The UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons also known as the Nuclear Ban Treaty was approved by the UN General Assembly in 2017. The Treaty forbids the deployment of nuclear weapons on national territory and the provision of assistance to any State in the performance of prohibited activities. The Treaty also mandates States Parties to provide sufficient assistance to persons affected by the use or testing of nuclear weapons, as well as to take reasonable and necessary steps for the remediation of the environment in areas under its jurisdiction. Following the deposit of the 50th instrument of ratification or accession of the Treaty on 24 October 2020, in compliance with Article 15 (1), it shall come into force on 22 January 2021. None of the nine nations with nuclear weapons have ratified the Treaty yet. These nuclear powers breach the 50-year-old Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which allows them to negotiate in good faith with a view to reduce and ultimately eliminate all nuclear weapons. Instead, new generations of nuclear weapons are being developed by the United States and other nuclear powers. The U.S. is spending billions on upgrading its nuclear weapons arsenal. Influential and powerful companies will make billions of dollars out of the nuclear programs and contribute to members of Congress who will vote to continue their arsenal of nuclear weapons and their revenues. Nuclear weapons are an obnoxious threat to humankind as a whole, and they will now be illegal as well. The United States and all nuclear powers must sign the Treaty and begin the planet’s de-nuclearization, take immediate actions to step back from the edge of nuclear war, and demonstrate leadership in the global effort to eradicate all nuclear weapons.
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