About the Treaty (TPNW)

The Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the eventual goal of total elimination of these weapons. So far the treaty has been rejected by the nuclear armed and allied states so it will not be binding on them. However, it serves as a strong political statement by non-nuclear states. The TPNW will also lead non-nuclear state parties to strengthen efforts to abolish nuclear weapons and to address the humanitarian and environmental impact of the nuclear arms race. The treaty exerts pressure on international companies who have produced nuclear weapons components across the globe by banning them in the signatory countries. It is also expected that financial institutions will face increased calls to divest from nuclear weapons now that they are prohibited by international law.

Resources on the TPNW:

  • Our January 22, 2021 press conference celebrating the entry into force of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons featured legislators and nuclear experts. View the recording of the event here.  
  • Nuclear Free World Committee organizer Diane Swords spoke with Jim Anderson, co-chair of national Peace Action, and Vincent Intondi, author of African Americans Against the Bomb, on George Kilpatrick’s Inspiration for the Nation. In discussing the treaty, they echo the question that Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King asked: “What will be the ultimate value of having established social justice in a context where all people, Negro and White, are merely free to face destruction by Stontium-90 or atomic war?” They call for an intersectional campaign addressing these issues together. View here.
  • Diane Swords interviewed Dr. Ira Helfand, co-chair of Physicians for Social Responsibility (PSR)’s Nuclear Weapons Abolition Committee and co-president of PSR’s global federation, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) – view here. 
  • Diane Swords interviewed Dr. Joseph Gerson, President of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament and Common Security and author of With Hiroshima Eyes and Empire and the Bomb – view here.
  • SPC Staff Organizer Michaela Czerkies joined Vicki Ross and Marie Schuster of the Western NY Peace Center and Kings Bay Plowshares activist Mark Colville on Talking Peace to discuss the TPNW’s entry into effect, the Kings Bay Plowshares action of April 2018, the Back from the Brink campaign, and how these all connect to strengthen the global movement for nuclear abolition – view here.
  • Read our press release on the awarding of the Nobel Peace Prize to ICAN (International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons).

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