The Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons

This book chronicles the genesis of the negotiations that led to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which challenged the established nuclear order. The work provides readers with an authoritative account of the complex evolution of the ‘Humanitarian Initiative’ (HI) and the negotiation history of the TPNW. It includes a close analysis of internal strategy documents and communications in the author’s possession which trace the tactical and political decisions of a small group of state actors. By demonstrating the unacceptable humanitarian consequences and uncontrollable risks that these weapons pose to everyone’s security, the HI convinced many states to ban nuclear weapons and reject the policy of nuclear deterrence as unsustainable and illegitimate. As such, this book is a case-study of multilateral diplomacy and cooperation between state and civil society actors. It also contains a full discussion of both sides of the nuclear argument and assesses the extent to which the HI and the TPNW have moved the dial and present opportunities for transformational change. This book will be of much interest to students of nuclear disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation, diplomacy, global governance, and International Relations in general.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (2017) sets out to challenge deterrence policies and military defence doctrines, taking a humanitarian approach intended to disrupt the nuclear status quo. States with nuclear weapons oppose its very existence, neither participating in its development nor adopting its final text. Civil society groups seem determined, however, to stigmatize and delegitimize nuclear weapons towards their abolition. This book analyzes how the Treaty influences the international security architecture, examining legal, institutional and diplomatic implications of the Treaty and exploring its real and potential impact for both states acceding to the Treaty and those opposing it. It concludes with practical recommendations for international lawyers and policymakers regarding non-proliferation and disarmament matters, ultimately noting that nuclear weapons threaten peace, and everyone should have the right to nuclear peace and freedom from nuclear fear.

The contributors to this book describe, discuss, and evaluate the normative reframing brought about by the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (the Ban Treaty), taking you on a journey through its genesis and negotiation history to the shape of the emerging global nuclear order. Adopted by the United Nations on 7 July 2017, the Ban Treaty came into effect on 22 January 2021. For advocates and supporters, weapons that were always immoral are now also illegal. To critics, it represents a profound threat to the stability of the existing global nuclear order with the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty as the normative anchor. As the most significant leap in nuclear disarmament in fifty years and a rare case study of successful state-civil society partnership in multilateral diplomacy, the Ban Treaty challenges the established order. The book’s contributors are leading experts on the Ban Treaty, including senior scholars, policymakers and civil society activists. A vital guide to the Ban Treaty for students of nuclear disarmament, arms control and diplomacy as well as for policymakers in those fields.

Rising concern over the increasing threat of nuclear war impelled the 2017 United Nations (UN) negotiations and adoption by 122 UN member states of a Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The Treaty seeks to ban nuclear weapons globally in the same way chemical and biological weapons have already been prohibited. This book provides the first in-depth comprehensive analysis of the implications and possibilities of the new treaty, drawing on the insights of international relations, international laws, and disarmament experts and specialists from Europe, America, the Asia-Pacific, and the UN. In a context where existing nuclear weapon states have so far declined to be party to the new treaty, the book examines not only its emergence and significance but also the prospects and possibilities for its implementation, the challenges associated with verifying the new agreement, the role of both civil society and governments, and the treaty’s wider implications in addressing regional and global nuclear threats. This book was originally published as a special issue of Global Change, Peace & Security but additionally includes the special section articles on the treaty in the Journal for Peace and Nuclear Disarmament.

Banning the Bomb, Smashing the Patriarchy offers a look inside the antinuclear movement and its recent successful campaign to ban the bomb. From scrappy organizing to winning the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017 and achieving a landmark UN treaty banning nuclear weapons, this book narrates the journey of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) and developments in feminist disarmament activism. Acheson explains the process through which diplomats, activists, and nuclear survivors worked together to elevate the horrific humanitarian and environmental impacts of nuclear weapons, develop new international law categorically prohibiting the bomb, challenge the nuclear orthodoxy, and strengthen norms for disarmament and peace. Told from the perspective of a queer feminist antimilitarist organizer who was involved from the start of the process through to the treaty’s adoption, the book utilizes interviews with dozens of participants, as well as critical theoretical perspectives about transnational advocacy networks, discourse change, and intersectional feminist action. It is meant to provide useful insights for anyone trying to make change amidst structures of power and politics.

This Commentary offers detailed background and analysis of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which was adopted at the UN Headquarters in New York in July 2017. The Treaty comprehensively prohibits the use, development, export, and possession of nuclear weapons. Stuart Casey-Maslen, a leading expert in the field who served as legal adviser to the Austrian Delegation during the negotiations of this Treaty, works through article by article, describing how each provision was negotiated and what it implies for states that join the Treaty. As the Treaty provisions cut across various branches of international law, the Commentary goes beyond a discussion of disarmament to consider the law of armed conflict, human rights, and the law on inter-state use of force. The Commentary examines the relationship with other treaties addressing nuclear weapons, in particular the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Background on the development and possession of nuclear weapons and theories of nuclear deterrence is provided. Particular attention is paid to controversial issues such as assistance for prohibited activities, the meaning of 'threaten to use', and the definition of nuclear explosive devices. Casey-Maslen also considers whether a member of NATO or other nuclear alliance can lawfully become a state party to the Treaty.

TPNW - Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, entered into effect in January 2021, 90 days following the 50th ratification of the Treaty. A substantial majority of the world's countries voted in favour of the Treaty in the United Nations General Assembly. This book presents and discusses the Treaty. Its sister book 'Nuclear Weapons and International Law (3rd edition), NWIL3, could have been updated to include material following the Treaty entry into force but that would have made an already substantial book, even larger. It was decided to issue a much smaller stand-alone book, that could contain all key points in a less expensive book. The chapters of the book provide compact discussions of a number of essential topics. It starts with a history of the journey from the birth of the bomb in the late 1930s-early 1940s to the first signings of TPNW in 2017. This history includes the intimates relationship between the UK and USA starting with British participation in the Manhattan Project right through to today. Another Chapter shows how nuclear weapons have been unlawful under international law since the beginning and that the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unlawful. In this sense TPNW can be seen as a codifying treaty given the already unlawfulness of nuclear weapons under several treaties and customary international law; as found by the International Court of Justice who failed to identify any circumstances under which the use of nuclear weapons would undoubtedly be lawful. The nuclear weapons states are not happy about TPNW; they prefer the cosy status quo set up by the 1968 Non-Proliferation Treaty of which they are all in material breach because of their failure to negotiate in good faith for multilateral nuclear disarmament. During the negotiations for TPNW and following its entry into force their main argument was that TPNW would undermine the NPT. This book discusses that, shows how the nuclear weapons states have failed to provide any logical or coherent rationale as to how TPNW could undermine the NPT, and goes on to show the opposite; TPNW complements and reinforces the NPT; they sit side-by-side very comfortably. Implementation of TPNW requires domestic legislation; a 1987 New Zealand Act is presented as an example of how that can be done. The book includes a discussion of how the legal framework in the world would benefit from a Nuclear Weapons Convention. There is a UK case study of its nuclear weapons policy, including consideration of the March 2021 UK decision to increase its ceiling on the number of nuclear warheads. The book explains why that UK Integrated Review is a material breach of the NPT and could be reckless in damaging the current NPT regime. The case study refers to the works of two ex-Royal Navy commanders who have played senior roles in the UKs nuclear weapons deployments and show how UK security can be obtained more effectively without nuclear weapons. The book contains several radical and unorthodox positions such as: Hiroshima and Nagasaki were unlawful and there was no 'military necessity' for their use; the nuclear weapons states are all in material breach of the Non-Proliferation Treaty; the Nuclear Weapons States are the largest terrorist organizations on the planet; all individuals connected with nuclear weapons need to be identified for having potential international criminal liability; nuclear deterrence is unlawful; the UK Integrated Review 2021 is unlawful and reckless; nuclear reactors should be made unlawful; and other points; we need a new TPNWI Treaty for individuals to sign up to. To some people, TPNW is the beginning of the end of nuclear weapons. The book provides ideas for civil society, diplomats, governments, and others to move forward after TPNW.

Master's Thesis from the year 2019 in the subject Politics - Topic: Public International Law and Human Rights, grade: 80.00%, Leiden University, language: English, abstract: This thesis will first outline the background and key conventions that are predecessors to the TPNW. Chapter II will cover thematic similarities between these conventions, and then demonstrate how the ideas codified within these treaties left the issue of the use of nuclear weapons’ legality ambiguous. It will then analyse the ICJ’s famous Advisory Opinion on the matter, and the debates leading up to the acceptance for such a request. Chapter III will discuss the main recurring ideas and issues furthering the need for a convention with clarity on the illegality of nuclear weapons, and analyse the drafting process of the Treaty by observing the contribution of several states, international organizations, and non-governmental organizations (‘NGOs’). Various opinions will be observed to outline the perceived legal impact of the Treaty, considering that most are dubious of the cooperation of nuclear weapons states. Chapter IV will analyse key provisions of the Treaty, its adoption, and voting patterns. This will include a look at the boycotting of the process by states with nuclear weapons and their allies, with a closer observation of the case of the Netherlands, who was the only State voting against the adoption. The thesis will conclude by identifying the potential successes of the Treaty pursuant to goals outlined in the drafting process, and identifying possible recurring issues that may occur with regards to the cooperation of nuclear-weapons states. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons’ likelihood of achieving its aims will depend on the pressure it creates on states that possess nuclear weapons and their efforts towards disarmament. With an analytical view of the drafting process and subsequent voting on the Treaty, it seems the only states likely to sign or ratify the Treaty belong to the group that does not possess them to begin with. Nonetheless, the Treaty may have an effect on nuclear weapon states’ behaviour if it is widely accepted by other states, compelling them to take more aggressive action towards nuclear disarmament. Therefore, while the TPNW’s adoption is a progressive step towards greater certainty on the illegality of nuclear weapons, its success in creating a safer world for humanity will largely depend on the likelihood of states in possession of nuclear weapons to feel some obligation to comply with its provisions.