Can a treaty banning nuclear weapons speed their abolition?
By Janice Sinclaire | February 22, 2017
Over the objections of most nuclear-armed nations, a UN committee on disarmament and security resoundingly approved a resolution last October mandating negotiations toward a treaty that outlaws nuclear weapons. Talks are set to begin in March; there could be a ban treaty with dozens of state signatures by the end of 2017.
Outright prohibition of nuclear weapons would contrast starkly with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which allows five countries to retain nuclear weapons for an unspecified time—as they “pursue negotiations in good faith… on a treaty on general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control.”
What should a ban treaty entail, and could it truly succeed in speeding the disarmament process? Our newest roundtable argues these questions.
Round One:
To abolish nuclear weapons, strip away their handsome mask, by Mustafa Kibaroglu
Assessing the ban treaty from Ukraine, by Polina Sinovets
The ban treaty: An interim step, but politically profound, by Joelien Pretorius
Round Two:
Reality: Humanity can’t indefinitely avoid using nuclear weapons, by Mustafa Kibaroglu
Arms control is realistic; general disarmament probably isn’t, by Polina Sinovets
Succeed or fail, the ban treaty won’t erode the NPT, by Joelien Pretorius
Round Three:
Disarmament while the change remains, by Mustafa Kibaroglu
Better to bear the ills we have, by Polina Sinovets
How I learned to hate the Bomb, by Joelien Pretorius
Arabic translations
Chinese translations
Spanish translations
Russian translations
Further reading:
Does the fight over a nuclear weapons ban threaten global stability? by Heather Williams
The terrifying geography of nuclear and radiological insecurity in South Asia, by Hannah E. Haegeland and Reema Verma
Reconsidering the reversal: South Korea’s nuclear choices, by William Caplan and Kenneth B. Turner
Nuclear Roundup, by Jodi Lieberman. Sign up for a daily compilation of quality nuclear policy news published on the Web, around the world.
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Keywords: TPNW, Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, nuclear ban treaty
Topics: Uncategorized
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