January 22, 2021
The remains of the Prefectural Industry Promotion Building, after the dropping of the atomic bomb, in Hiroshima, Japan. This site was later preserved as a monument. Courtesy photo
NEW YORK The first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty in more than two decades, came into force just after midnight on Friday, hailed by UN Secretary-General António Guterres as “an important step toward a world free of nuclear weapons”.
Guterres said that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) also represents a “strong demonstration of support for multilateral approaches to nuclear disarmament” overall.
In a video message and statement, the UN chief commended the States that have ratified the treaty and welcomed the “instrumental role of civil society in advancing the TPNW’s negotiation and entry into force”.
Scotland editor
POLITICIANS and campaigners slammed the “shameful” British government today after it refused to sign up to the United Nations (UN) treaty on the prohibition on Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
The Tory government failed to back the treaty, which came into effect today, despite claiming it was “committed” to a world without nuclear weapons.
The UN treaty declares that countries signed up must “never under any circumstances develop, test, produce, manufacture or otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.”
None of the nuclear powers, including Britain, have so far signed the accord, which was ratified by the required 50 countries last year and passed in the UN general assembly 122 votes to one, with one abstention. Britain and other nuclear-armed states refused to take part in the vote.
Nuclear weapons illegal from 22 January https://www.miragenews.com/nuclear-weapons-illegal-from-22-january/ 21 Jan 21, As President Joe Biden takes charge in the United States – and is expected to immediately move to rejoin the Paris climate agreement – this week also sees a very significant shift in the global status of nuclear weapons. On Friday 22 January the UN Treaty on…
A-bomb survivors urge Biden to join U.N. nuclear treaty Sorry, but your browser needs Javascript to use this site. If you re not sure how to activate it, please refer to this site: https://www.enable-javascript.com/
Kyodo Jan 21, 2021
Atomic bomb survivors in Japan on Thursday urged the administration of new U.S. President Joe Biden to join a U.N. treaty banning nuclear weapons that will take effect the following day.
“We earnestly call for (U.S.) participation in the treaty,” said Michiko Kodama, 82, assistant secretary general of the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations at a Tokyo press conference.
Le Monde 20th Jan 2021, At the heart of Franco-Algerian memory: the fight against those irradiated from the Sahara. This January 20, historian Benjamin Stora submits to the President of the Republic, Emmanuel Macron, his report on Franco-Algerian memory. The nuclear tests carried out until 1966 in the Sahara are one of the disputes between…