Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Conference: Can Momentum for Nuclear Disarmament Be Increased from the 27th of the Conference of the Parties?

The second meeting of the Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which prohibits the development, possession and use of nuclear weapons, will begin at the United Nations Headquarters in New York on June 2. As Russia, which invades Ukraine, continues to make nuclear threats, China continues to build up its nuclear forces, and the global situation surrounding nuclear weapons becomes increasingly severe, the question will be whether it will be possible to increase the momentum for nuclear disarmament.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has finally entered into force, and the first Conference of States Parties was held in Austria in June last year, and the "Vienna Declaration" calling for the realization of a "world without nuclear weapons" was adopted.

The second session of the Conference of the Parties will be held at the United Nations Headquarters in New York from the 6th to the 2st of next month.

So far, 27 countries and regions have signed the treaty, and 1 countries and regions have ratified it, but in addition to nuclear states such as the United States and Russia, Japan and NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states under the nuclear umbrella are not participating.

Some NATO member states will participate in the Conference of the Parties as observers, but Japan governments have not indicated their willingness to participate.

On the other hand, at the meeting, survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will testify, and the mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki will also speak.

Regarding the world's nuclear weapons, it has been pointed out that Russia, which invades Ukraine, continues to make nuclear threats, and China is also building up its nuclear forces faster than expected, and the NPT = Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in August last year ended without the adoption of the final document.

Even in this difficult situation, the Conference of the Parties will be asked whether it is possible to increase the momentum for nuclear disarmament through discussions on the inhumanity and environmental impact of nuclear weapons.

What is the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons?

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is the first international treaty to prohibit the development, production, possession and use of nuclear weapons, and also establishes procedures for participation by states possessing nuclear weapons and countries under the nuclear umbrella, as well as assistance to victims and contaminated areas of nuclear tests.

So far, 93 countries and regions have signed the treaty, and 69 countries and regions have completed the ratification process and become parties.

On the other hand, nuclear-armed states such as the United States, Russia, and China, as well as NATO = North Atlantic Treaty Organization member states and Japan, which are under the nuclear umbrella of the United States, do not participate in the treaty.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was adopted by the United Nations in 2017 after dissatisfied non-nuclear states took the lead in negotiations amid slow progress in disarmament by nuclear weapon states under the conventional nuclear disarmament framework NPT = Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

In January, the treaty entered into force after the necessary number of countries ratified it, and in June last year, the first Conference of the Parties was held in Austria, and the Vienna Declaration, which calls for the realization of a "world without nuclear weapons," was adopted.