All you need to know about the TPNW that goes into force on 22/01/21

Humanitarian Law & Policy

22 January 2021

Today is a historic day: The first global treaty to ban nuclear weapons has come into force

Dear friends,

We are writing you today with historic news: the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) – the first global treaty to ban nuclear weapons – has come into force. By explicitly and unequivocally prohibiting the use, threat of use, development, production, testing and stockpiling of nuclear weapons, the Treaty sends a clear signal that nuclear weapons are unacceptable from a moral, humanitarian, and now also legal point of view.

The Treaty won’t magically eliminate the current global nuclear arsenal overnight: the world’s nuclear-armed countries still have more than 13,000 nuclear bombs, with command-and-control networks vulnerable to human error and cyberattacks.

Today is a reinvigorated beginning - not the end – of our efforts. Our work will only be over once all States have joined the Treaty. Find out more below on how we got here, and how you can help move us all closer to a world without nuclear weapons.

Sincerely,

Helen Durham

Director of International Law and Policy

International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC)

Upcoming events/courses/conferences

January

22
2021

United Nations High Level Ceremony

A virtual commemoration with opening remarks by António Guterres, Secretary General of the United Nations, Peter Maurer, President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, and Beatrice Fihn, International Coalition to Abolish Nuclear Weapons.

Please go to the Facebook page of the Austrian Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday to follow the ceremony.

Online 14:00 - 15.30 CET

January

22
2021

Live Event of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)

This celebratory event will feature short interviews and conversations with key actors who have greatly contributed to the development and entry into force of the Nuclear Ban Treaty.

Online 21:00-22:30 CET

Learn more about the TPNW

Blog post with ICRC's President Peter Maurer | A Q&A with the expert | Joint Statement | Podcast | Take Action

Blog | ‘A victory for humanity’?

A conversation between the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross, Peter Maurer, and the President of the Japanese Red Cross Society, Yoshiharu Otsuka.

Read

A Q&A with the expert | Why does the Nuclear Ban Treaty matter?

Campaigners have been working toward this day for decades. Magnus Løvold, ICRC Policy Advisor on nuclear weapons, tells us why this treaty matters, what will change now it has entered into force and what comes next.

Read

Joint Statement | The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement celebrate the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

The world’s largest volunteer-based humanitarian network welcomes the entry into force today of the first instrument of international humanitarian law to include provisions to help address the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of using and testing nuclear weapons.

Read

Podcast | Strengths and weaknesses of the Nuclear Ban Treaty: A State Party perspective

Representatives from the government, civil society and the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in New Zealand and Thailand discuss the pros and cons of the Treaty. Featuring Ambassador Dell Higgie of New Zealand MFAT, Her Highness Tunku Puteri, the Chairperson of the Malaysian Red Crescent and Mr Koizumi, Secretary General, Mayors for Peace, Hiroshima.

Listen

Take action!

Join the ICRC and say no to nuclear weapons. Let's decide the future of nuclear weapons before they decide ours.

Join

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Stay tuned for testimonials, fact checking, explainers and quizzes that will be published on our global and regional channels, from Friday 22 January onwards.

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