Youth Determined to Push Through UN Nuclear Test Ban Treaty

By Ramesh Jaura

NEW YORK | VIENNA (IDN) – “As youth, we are the future leaders of the world, the ones who will inherit and live in the world left behind for us, and the bearers of the hopes and dreams for our children and their children after them," declared a group of young people who are members of the CTBTO Youth Group.

"Twenty years after the opening of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) for signature, we regret that this Treaty, which would establish a legally binding, comprehensive prohibition on nuclear explosive testing, has yet to enter into force," said the Group in a joint statement. [P 06]  | JAPANESE TEXT VERSON PDF

Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Nearing Completion

By Tariq Rauf*

VIENNA (IDN) - On June 27, the second draft of the “Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons” was released at the United Nations in New York. Delegations from more than 130 States will now work to finalize the treaty text by July 7, 2017.

The United Nations Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, Leading Towards their Total Elimination has been meeting at the UN in New York on March 27–31 and June 15–7 July 7. Ambassador Elayne Whyte Gómez of Costa Rica is the Conference President, who has done a masterful job in navigating through the competing and often contradictory positions of both States and civil society organizations (CSO) to produce a realistic and workable draft Treaty text.

UN Conference Considers Revised Draft of a Nuclear Ban Treaty

By J. Nastranis+

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) –With less than a fortnight for the United Nations Conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons to conclude on July 7, the delegations considered a new version of the draft convention on June 27, following the read-through of the earlier version the previous week, when they tabled proposals and suggestions.

Pushing ahead towards concluding with a final version by July 7, Conference President Ambassador Elayne Whyte Gómez (Costa Rica) tabled a revised version of the draft instrument (document A/CONF.229/2017/CRP.1/REV.1), emphasizing that her main focus had been to focus on points of convergence while reviewing the draft 'article by article'.

CTBTO Conference to Focus on Nuclear Test Verification

By Jamshed Baruah

BERLIN | VIENNA (IDN) - While UN member states are negotiating at the United Nations headquarters in New York a legally binding instrument prohibiting nuclear weapons, experts from around the world will be gathering in Vienna from June 26 to 30 to review monitoring and verification technologies crucial to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT),

The forthcoming gathering – officially known as 'The CTBT: Science and Technology 2017 Conference (SnT2017)' – is the sixth in a series of multidisciplinary conferences designed to "further enhance the strong relationship between the scientific and technological community and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty Organization (CTBTO) as well as with policy-makers."

Need for World Free of Nuclear Weapons More Urgent than Ever

By J Nastranis

UNITED NATIONS (IDN) – As the second substantive session of the 'UN Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, Leading towards Their Total Elimination' opened in New York on June 15, Izumi Nakamitsu, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs described the negotiations as "truly historic".

The senior-most United Nations disarmament official, who was opening the resumed session, said the deliberations represent the most significant negotiations in the area of nuclear disarmament. A world free of nuclear weapons was the longest-sought objective of the United Nations dating back to the very first resolution adopted by the General Assembly, in January 1946.

UN Disarmament Official Urges Progress on Nuke Ban Treaty

By Izumi Nakamitsu

The author is High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, United Nations. Following are excerpts from her address to the second substantive session of the 'UN Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, Leading towards Their Total Elimination' in New York on June 15, - The Editor.

UNITED NATONS (IDN) - In accordance with (the UN General Assembly) resolution 71/258, these negotiations aim to achieve a clear legal prohibition of nuclear weapons. These talks are truly historic, as they represent the most significant negotiations in the area of nuclear disarmament.

Japan Urged to Participate in Nuclear Ban Treaty Negotiations

By J Nastranis

NEW YORK (IDN) – An eminent Buddhist philosopher and peacebuilder, Dr. Daisaku Ikeda, has expressed regrets that the Japanese government did not participate in the first session of the UN Conference to negotiate a nuclear ban treaty, and urged it to work with the Netherlands in the second session from June 15 to July 7, thus making "a unique and vital contribution to the success of the negotiations".

The centerpiece of negotiations is “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination.”

A New UN Nuclear Convention Is In The making

By Sergio Duarte, Ambassador, former High Representative of the UN for Disarmament Affairs*

NEW YORK (IDN) - The timely release of the draft Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by President Elayne Whyte-Gómez well in advance of the start of the second part of the negotiations will permit delegations from Member States and participating non-governmental organizations as well as interested institutions and individuals to study the text and come to the United Nations on June 15 fully prepared to contribute to the finalization of the Convention.

Coming Ban-the-Bomb Treaty Promises a Historic Leap Forward

By Daryl G. Kimball

The coming nuclear weapons prohibition treaty is not an all-in-one solution, but it promises to be a historic and valuable leap forward, writes Daryl G. Kimball is the Executive Director of the Arms Control Association (ACA). This appears in June 2017 issue of the ACA's monthly journal, 'Arms Control Today'. with the headline 'Toward a Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons'. – The Editor

WASHINGTON, DC (IDN-INPS) - Nearly five decades ago, the 1968 nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) established the requirement that states-parties pursue “effective measures” to end the nuclear arms race and to achieve nuclear disarmament.

It's High Time to Ban the Bomb

Viewpoint by Alice Slater

Alice Slater serves on the Coordinating Committee of World Beyond War, which first carried the article.

NEW YORK (IDN) – On May 22, the Chair of an exciting UN initiative formally named the “United Nations Conference to Negotiate a Legally Binding Instrument to Prohibit Nuclear Weapons, Leading Towards their Total Elimination” released a draft treaty to ban and prohibit nuclear weapons just as the world has done for biological and chemical weapons.