Nuclear Weapons Treaties
There are two international treaties dealing with nuclear weapons: the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (commonly known at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The UK is a signatory of the first but refuses to sign the second.
United Nations supports disarmament efforts in the Office for Disarmament Affairs.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)
This international treaty aims to
- prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology
- promote cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy
- further the goal of achieving nuclear disarmament and general and complete disarmament.
The treaty was negotiated between 1965 and 1968 by the Eighteen Nation Committee on Disarmament, a United Nations-sponsored organization based in Geneva, Switzerland and it came into force in 1970.
190 states are parties to the treaty, more countries than to any other arms limitation and disarmament agreement.
Signatories of the NPT that do not already have nuclear weapons agree never to acquire them, while the states that possess them agree to share the benefits of peaceful nuclear technology and to pursue nuclear disarmament aimed at the ultimate elimination of their nuclear arsenals.
The treaty is reviewed every five years in meetings called Review Conferences.
Critics argue that the NPT cannot stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons or the motivation to acquire them. They also express disappointment with the limited progress on nuclear disarmament.
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)
This is the first legally-binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination. It was adopted and opened for signatures in 2017 and entered into force on 22 January 2021.
As of 20 June 2022, 65 states have ratified or acceded to the treaty.
The UK, along with all states that already possess nuclear weapons, have refused to sign it. UK government’s statement on why it refuses to sign is given here.