Geneva | 19 August 2016
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Majority of UN members declare intention to negotiate ban on nuclear weapons in 2017
United Nations disarmament talks concluded in Geneva today with the overwhelming majorityof nations signalling their intention to launch negotiations in 2017 for a global ban on nuclear weapons.
107 states from Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Southeast Asia and the Pacific, together with several in Europe, united behind a proposal to convene a conference next year to outlaw nuclear weapons.
A small handful of nations argued that nuclear weapons are essential for their security and therefore should not be prohibited. However, these opponents failed to block the majority andprevent negotiations from proceeding.
The Geneva talks began in February and continued in May and August as part of a special UN working group established last year to advance nuclear disarmament negotiations, which have long been stalled at the UN.
The group today adopted its final report by vote. The report recommends that a conference be held next year to negotiate “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Nuclear weapons remain the only weapons of mass destruction not yet prohibited under international law, despite their inhumane and indiscriminate nature. The proposed ban would address this legal anomaly.
“There can be no doubt that a majority of UN members intend to pursue negotiations next year on a treaty banning nuclear weapons,” said Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN).
“This is a significant moment in the seven-decade-long global struggle to rid the world of the worst weapons of mass destruction,” she said. “The UN working group achieved a breakthrough today.”
“We expect that, based on the recommendations of the working group, the UN General Assembly will adopt a resolution this autumn to establish the mandate for negotiations on a ban on nuclear weapons in 2017.”
ABOUT ICAN
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is a coalition of more than 440 non-governmental organisations in 98 countries. We are calling on governments to launch negotiations on a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons, which would place them on the same legal footing as chemical and biological weapons and help pave the way to their complete elimination.
Approximately 150 campaigners from the coalition participated in the working group at its three sessions in 2016.
MORE RESOURCES
- Images from the UN working group
- ICAN report from May discussions of the UN working group
CONTACT
For more information, please contact:
Beatrice Fihn
Executive Director
,
+41 (0) 78613 04 72