Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, often shortened to TPNW, is a multilateral treaty that sets out a comprehensive set of prohibitions on taking part in any nuclear weapon activity. It grew out of United Nations General Assembly resolution 71/258, which called a conference in 2017 to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination. The conference met in New York in March, June and July 2017, and adopted the text on 7 July 2017 by a vote of 122 states in favour, one against and one abstaining. It opened for signature on 20 September 2017 and entered into force on 22 January 2021, after the fiftieth instrument of ratification or accession was deposited with the Secretary-General on 24 October 2020. Its parties undertake not to develop, test, produce, acquire, possess, stockpile, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons, not to deploy them on national territory, and not to assist any state in a prohibited activity. States parties must also prevent and suppress prohibited activity under their jurisdiction, assist people affected by the use or testing of nuclear weapons, and take measures to remediate contaminated environments. The Secretary-General convenes meetings of states parties, the first held in Vienna in June 2022.