Creating the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

Abstract

This chapter explores the formation of the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and addresses some of its key provisions. It outlines how the 2010 NPT Review Conference made mention of international humanitarian law, how this in turn generated the ‘Humanitarian Initiative’ conferences, how these conferences were able to address the likely consequences of nuclear weapons’ use, calling on research from scientists, climate modellers, medical practitioners, lawyers, and those specializing in food and water security. The chapter shows how these deliberations led to the creation of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It notes that many of the processes identified in the previous chapter were applied in negotiations leading to the TPNW. Specifically, these negotiations reflected new processes of arms control and disarmament, by rejecting the more traditional (but unproductive) arms control venues and traditional diplomatic processes, by proceeding without the great powers’ consent or involvement, by utilizing civil society actors and small and middle-sized states in the international system, by placing a sole focus on humanitarianism, and by striving for a straightforward ban on nuclear weapons.