17.10.2017 | Miroslav Tůma

The Historically Important Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Was Adopted

Entirely unnoticed by the Czech media, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (NWT) was approved on July 7 2017, the last day of the second round of the UN Conference in New York.

Around 130 states joined the negotiations, including the Netherlands as the only NATO member state, and they also included representatives of several international, regional and non-governmental organisations. Additionally, those present included religious leaders as well as the survivors of the American atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945, who in Japan are referred to as ‘hibakusha’. Out of the EU countries, Austria, Ireland, Sweden, and the already mentioned Netherlands joined the table. All states which possess nuclear weapons and the majority of their allied and partner countries, including the Czech Republic, boycotted both rounds of the talks. The session was preceded by its first round, which took place in the second half of March of this year  (see the following International Law Reflections no. 10, November 11, 2016, no. 1, March 1, 2017 and no. 5, May 2, 2017 and no. 8 June 23, 2017)

Full reflection available here.




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