1st Ever Treaty for Prohibition of  Nuclear Weapons  adopted by UN comes into Force

‘Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) adopted by the United Nations  (UN) General Assembly came into force from January 22, 2021, it is the First ever International agreement which prohibits Nuclear Weapons. The Treaty was Adopted in 2017 by the United Nations General Assembly

i.The signatories of the agreement are prohibited from

• Development, Testing, Production, Stocking, Transferring, using & threat of using Nuclear weapons.
• If any Nuclear armed states are joining the treaty, a time-bound framework which leads to verified and irreversible elimination of its nuclear weapons programme is provided.

ii.Until now 86 Nations have signed TPNW & 52 have ratified it.

• However, Nuclear-capable countries – United States, Russia, Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea & Israel (Undeclared Nuclear Power) did not support the Treaty nor have signed it.
• Countries which rely on Nuclear weapons of other countries such as 27 members of NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization), Australia, Japan, & South Korea have not signed the treaty.

iii.There is no treaty or agreement which prohibits the use of Nuclear Weapons in a Comprehensive and Universal manner, unlike Biological weapons, chemical weapons, cluster munitions and Anti-personnel landmines.

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT):

Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) which has been effective since 1970  aims only to limit the growth of the nuclear arms race & technology related to it.

• Other goals of the treaty were to promote cooperation for peaceful use of nuclear energy and achieve nuclear disarmament.
• 5 nations – United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia & China are signatories of the NPT while India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea have not signed the treaty.

Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT):

The 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) adopted by the United Nations General Assembly bans Nuclear tests for both civilian and military purposes. India has not yet ratified it.

Recent Related News:

i.September 26, 2021, United Nations International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons is annually observed across the globe on 26th September.

ii.On November 4, 2020, The First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted two India-sponsored resolutions on Nuclear Disarmament – ‘Convention on Prohibition of Use of Nuclear Weapons’ & ‘Reducing Nuclear Danger’ under the ‘Nuclear Weapons’ cluster.

About United Nations General Assembly:
President – Volkan Bozkir
Headquarters – New York, USA