A global treaty banning nuclear weapons was adopted at the United Nations on 7th July by 122 countries . But all nuclear states and NATO members have boycotted the negotiations except for the Netherlands.
- This is the first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty to be concluded in more than 20 years
- The nine countries that own nuclear weapons such as the United States, Russia, Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel never took part in the negotiations or cast their vote.
- Countries like Austria, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa and New Zealand, 141 countries joined in drafting to increase pressure on nuclear states to take disarmament.
About the treaty:-
The treaty requires of all ratifying countries should “never under any circumstances to develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.”
- It also bans any transfer or use of nuclear weapons or nuclear explosive devices — and the threat to use such weapons.
- The treaty will enter into force when 50 countries could have ratified it. The treaty will be open to welcome the signatures as of September 20 at UN Headquarters in New York
The United States, Britain and France rejected the treaty within hours of its adoption because these countries were of the view that:-
- This initiative disregards the realities of the international security environment.
- This treaty offers no solution to the grave threat posed by North Korea’s nuclear program.
The International Committee of the Red Cross(ICRC)  declared the adoption “an important victory for our shared humanity.” (ICRC) is a humanitarian institution based in Geneva, Switzerland and a three-time Nobel Prize Laureate.
NATO:
NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is an international alliance that consists of 29 member states from North America and Europe.
- It was established at the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949.
- Headquarters: Brussels, Belgium
