Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty to Hold First Conference of the Parties Will the Momentum for Nuclear Weapons Increase?

The first Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which bans the development and use of nuclear weapons, will be held in Austria from the 21st.

As Russia's military invasion of Ukraine raises the threat to nuclear weapons, the focus is on whether it can increase international momentum for nuclear disarmament throughout the three-day session.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons came into effect in January last year, and the first Conference of the Parties to discuss future operations will be held in Vienna, the capital of Austria, from the evening of the 21st of Japan time.

At the conference, speeches will be given by each country, procedures for involving nuclear-weapon states, support for victims of nuclear weapons and nuclear tests, etc. will be discussed, and a statement will be issued on the final day.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has been ratified by 62 countries and regions and has become a contracting party. Japan etc. do not participate.

At least 29 NATO member countries such as Germany, Belgium and the Netherlands, which are not participating in the treaty, will attend this conference as observers, but the Government of Japan will not attend.

The conference will be held amid growing concerns about the use of nuclear weapons by Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, and will ask whether it can increase international momentum for nuclear disarmament throughout the three-day session. ..

Mr. Kiichi Kido, who was bombed in Nagasaki and participated in the "Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons" held at the same venue on the 20th prior to the Conference of the Parties, said, "The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is the wish of the atomic bomb survivors. I sincerely hope that the Conference of the Parties will be successful. "

What is the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons?

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is the first international treaty adopted by the United Nations in 2017 to ban the development, manufacture, possession and use of nuclear weapons.

The treaty also provides procedures for the participation of nuclear-weapon states and countries under the umbrella of nuclear weapons, as well as support for victims and contaminated areas such as nuclear tests.

The treaty entered into force in January last year with ratification by 50 countries and regions, and as of 19th of this month, 62 countries and regions have completed ratification procedures and are contracting parties.

On the other hand, nuclear-weapon states such as the United States, Russia, and China, and NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization member countries and Japan under the US nuclear umbrella do not participate in the treaty.

Behind the passage of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was the opposition of countries without nuclear weapons to the fact that nuclear weapons reduction by nuclear-weapon states has not progressed at all for many years.

So far, nuclear disarmament has recognized five countries, the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France, and China as nuclear-weapon states under the "NPT = Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty" and called for the reduction of nuclear weapons, while the other countries have nuclear weapons. We have banned possession and diffusion.

However, disarmament negotiations between the United States and Russia, which possess about 90% of the world's nuclear weapons, have stagnated, China has expanded its nuclear force, and North Korea, which has unilaterally declared withdrawal from the NPT, has also promoted nuclear and missile development. ..

The last two years of the 2015 NPT Review Conference ended with a sharp conflict between countries advocating gradual nuclear disarmament within the framework of the NPT and countries calling for a treaty to legally ban nuclear weapons. Later, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted mainly by countries that do not possess nuclear weapons.

Ukraine situation “risk of using nuclear weapons increases”

Following Russia's military invasion of Ukraine, research institutes and experts analyzing the world's military situation are at increased risk of using nuclear weapons, and countries tend to emphasize the role of nuclear weapons in their military strategies. I am analyzing.

According to an annual report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute in Sweden on the 13th of this month, which analyzes the world's military situation, the total number of nuclear warheads owned by each country is estimated to be 12,705 as of January. , 375 shots decreased from last year.

Meanwhile, the report points out that nuclear-weapon states tend to modernize and reinforce nuclear weapons and place more emphasis on the role of nuclear weapons in their military strategies, especially in response to Russia's military invasion of Ukraine. "The risk is the highest since the Cold War," he said, pointing out that the total number of nuclear warheads in the world, which had been declining so far, could start to increase over the next decade.

In addition, following the military invasion by Russia, Finland and Sweden, which had been in a military-neutral position, applied for membership in NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization, and the US nuclear umbrella was also used. I am also aiming to enter.

Professor Nobumasa Akiyama of Hitotsubashi University, who is familiar with arms control and disarmament, is becoming more cautious about the use of nuclear weapons, and while the opposition to nuclear weapons is spreading, there are also increasing voices to review the significance of nuclear weapons as a deterrent. , Points out that international public opinion is divided.

In particular, the difference in thinking is remarkable between countries where nuclear weapons are directly related to their own security and those where they are not.

A-bombed area Hiroshima High expectations

At the first Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which will be held amid the growing threat of nuclear weapons, Hiroshima, the bombed area, has high hopes for showing the path to the abolition of nuclear weapons.

The lives of the A-bomb survivors were completely changed by the atomic bomb.

Some were killed, others lost their families and were orphaned, and others suffered from illness and discrimination.

The survivors have continued to appeal for the abolition of nuclear weapons by talking about their painful experiences.

A-bomb survivors have protested that Russia's President Vladimir Putin, who invaded Ukraine, has shown his willingness to use nuclear weapons.

Masashi Iejima (80), who visits the site at the time of the Conference of the Parties, was exposed at his home in Hiroshima City at the age of three.

Mr. Iejima said, "Nuclear weapons are unforgivable weapons that lead to the destruction of humankind and the earth, and we must spread the fact that nuclear weapons and humans cannot coexist." He says he wants to reassert the inhumanity of nuclear weapons.

In addition, Mayor Matsui of Hiroshima City is expected to give a speech locally, saying, "The significance of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the efforts that humankind has built up through the military invasion by Russia may be nullified. I would like to point out that this is not the case. I want you to broadly understand Hiroshima's heart that the nuclear deterrence policy is fundamentally wrong and no solution can be found other than the abolition of nuclear weapons. "

A-bombed area Nagasaki “A long-cherished wish for the realization of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons”

"Making Nagasaki the last war-bombed area".

The realization of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has been a long-cherished wish for Nagasaki, the A-bombed area that has sent this message for many years, and we hope that the first meeting of the Parties will expand the momentum for the abolition of nuclear weapons.

Kiichi Kido, the A-bomb survivor of Nagasaki and the secretary-general of the Japan Confederation of Atomic Bomb Victims, said at the "Meeting to Discuss the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons" held on the 20th. We have sought to eliminate nuclear weapons and war. This wish led to the establishment of the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. The treaty is the very wish of the A-bomb survivors. We sincerely hope for the success of the Conference of the Parties. " Said.

At the Conference of the Parties, A-bomb survivors in Nagasaki may testify to their experience.

In addition, Mayor Tagami of Nagasaki City is scheduled to give a speech at the Conference of the Parties, saying, "As the situation in Ukraine is tight and the risk of using nuclear weapons is higher than ever, we will further unite toward the abolition of nuclear weapons. I want to call on you. "