On Its 75th Birthday UN Ratifies Treaty Which Bans Ownership, Creation, and Use of Nuclear Weapons For Signatories

Portions of this article have been reprinted with permission from World news in general.

A treaty prohibiting the use, manufacture, sale and maintenance of nuclear weapons has just received the fiftieth ratification necessary to make nuclear weapons illegal for nations that affirm international law for the first time in history.

Ratifying nations include regional influencers such as Nigeria, Thailand, South Africa, Mexico, Austria, and New Zealand.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called the treaty “A significant commitment towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons”, while the International Campaign for the Abolition of Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) called it “historic”.

Honduras, the 50th ratifying nation, put pen to paper on Saturday, the 75th anniversary of the founding of the United Nations, the international governing body formed after World War II with the express purpose of promoting peace and stopping violence. wars.

Going into effect on January 22, 2021 for an “unlimited duration” the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons prohibits all stages and uses of nuclear weapons within any nation that has ratified the treaty and includes mechanisms that will allow these nations to hold each other accountable should a violation of the treaty be found.

Nuclear-weapon states, including the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France, have not signed the treaty.

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While those nations have not adopted the treaty, the fact that it has passed the drawing board and been incorporated into international law signifies the determination of governments committed to the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Setsuko thurlow, 88, one of the last survivors of the Hiroshima bombing is and has been a strong supporter of the treaty as a founder of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 for his efforts to establish the treaty that was launched in July of that year.

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Thurlow issued a statement about his reaction when he first heard that the final signer had been found.

“When I learned that we reached our 50th ratification, I couldn’t stand up,” said Thurlow, who was just 13 years old when the United States dropped an atomic bomb on his city.

“I stayed in my chair and put my head in my hands and wept tears of joy. I have committed my life to the abolition of nuclear weapons. I have nothing but gratitude for all who have worked for the success of our treaty. “