Category Nuclear Disarmament

Australia Urged to Sign & Ratify the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty

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ICAN Australia Director and report editor, Gem Romuld Photo Credit: © Neena Bhandari

By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 06.08.2019 (IDN-InDepthNews) – Australia must sign and ratify the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), says a new report released here by the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), the Australian-founded initiative which won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.

The report comes amidst growing international tension with important agreements, including the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – widely known as the Iran nuclear deal – and the 1988 Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the United States and Russia, being undermined.

The JCPOA was signed after protracted negotiations between Iran and six world powers comprising the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States – plus Germany together with the European Union.

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ICAN Expects Nuclear Ban Treaty to Enter into Force soon

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By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 28.05.2018 (IDN-InDepth News): As the world witnesses an increase in nuclear sabre-rattling in 2018, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is supporting global public movement to put pressure on governments to sign and ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. ICAN’s Treaty Coordinator Tim Wright (TW) spoke to IDN’s Neena Bhandari (NB) about disarmament, raising awareness about the risk and consequences of nuclear weapons, and why the world needs a nuclear ban treaty more than ever before.

Wright expects the Treaty to enter into force in 2019. He commends South Korea’s “great leadership” role by initiating the inter-Korean dialogue. “But true peace must be based on the total rejection of nuclear weapons by all nations, not just North Korea.” The rejection by President Donald Trump of the Iran nuclear deal, he says, “undermines the non-proliferation efforts.”

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Australia’s No to Prohibit-Nukes Resolution Triggers Debate

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By Neena Bhandari

Sydney, 15.12.2016 (IDN) – As the curtain falls on 2016, the year that marked the fifth anniversary of Fukushima and the 30th anniversary of Chernobyl nuclear disasters, sending a sombre reminder of the devastating humanitarian and environmental consequences of these weapons of mass destruction, the resolve to free the world of nuclear weapons is stronger than ever before.

The United Nations Resolution A/C.1/71/L.41, which calls for negotiations on a “legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading toward their total elimination”, was adopted at the 71st session of the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on October 27, 2016 with 123 members, including nuclear North Korea, voting in favour of taking forward the multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations, 38 voted against and 16 abstained.

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