Treaty banning Non -weapons to take effect in January: UN
New York … News Time
The United Nations says the 50th country has ratified an international treaty banning nuclear weapons, after which the “historic” text will be allowed to take effect after 90 days although the nuclear powers have not signed the agreement, according to a report in the French news agency AFP. But activists for its implementation have expressed hope that it will prove to be more than symbolic and will have a gradual temporary effect. Honduras has become the 50th country to ratify the treaty, according to a statement issued by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres calling it a “catastrophic inhumane act” caused by any use of nuclear weapons declared the end of a global movement to draw conclusions. He said it represents a meaningful commitment to the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, which is a top priority for UN disarmament. NGOs also welcomed the news, including the Global Campaign to Destroy Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which played a key role in bringing the agreement to a logical conclusion.
ICANN said in a tweet that Honduras had ratified the agreement as the 50th state, paving the way for its implementation and making history. “Today is a day of triumph for humanity,” Peter Moore, president of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), said in a statement. And that promises a secure future, according to the United Nations. August was the 75th anniversary of the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. And on this occasion, many countries ratified the agreement, which will now come into force on January 22, 2021. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty prohibits the use, development, production, testing, stationing, stockpiling and intimidation of such weapons. It was adopted by the UN General Assembly in July 2017 with the approval of 122 countries. 84 states have signed it, but not all have ratified the text. Nuclear-armed states, including the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia, have not signed the treaty.
Japan, the only nuclear-armed country, has ruled out an immediate signing, Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi told reporters Sunday. “We can’t help.” But the usefulness of the agreement could be questioned because nuclear powers are not getting involved. But Sunao Tsuboi, an atomic bomb survivor, told the broadcaster NHK that “we have no doubt that this is a major step towards a ban on nuclear weapons and its elimination. “We really want the Japanese government to join the agreement, given the desire of the atomic bomb survivors,” he said. Campaigners hope that its implementation will have the same effect as the previous agreement on landmines, which will change the attitude of countries that do not sign.
The ICANN said it expects companies to stop developing nuclear weapons and financial institutions to stop investing in nuclear weapons companies. The alliance’s executive director, Beatrice Fihn, called it “a new chapter in nuclear disarmament.” Decades of activity have achieved what many have said is impossible: a ban on nuclear weapons. Nuclear-armed states say their arsenals work to stem the spread of those weapons and he says he is committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which calls for an end to the proliferation of nuclear weapons. In addition, Russia and the United States are trying to break a stalemate in the long-running talks aimed at boosting the nuclear arms deal between them.
