Draft treaty welcomed
A draft treaty to ban nuclear weapons has been welcomed
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) has welcomed a UN draft treaty to ban nuclear weapons.
Over 130 countries participated in the first negotiation session in March, when participants shared initial positions and goals for treaty language. A nuclear weapons ban was compared to previous bans on chemical and biological weapons, land mines, and cluster munitions, which have had significant impact. Countries must now finalise the treaty at the second negotiation session, which begins on 15 June and ends on 7 July.
Beatrice Fihn, executive director of ICAN, said: ‘The draft language is strong and categorically prohibits nuclear weapons… We are confident that this text provides a good basis for adopting a treaty by 7 July.’
