Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

This TPNW (Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons) or the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty is the first treaty of its kind against nuclear armament. This treaty looks at prohibiting the use of atomic weapons, aiming to eliminate them. For more details regarding this treaty concerning the IAS Exam, read below.

UPSC aspirants can also read in detail about India and its Nuclear Issues at the linked article.

Key Highlights of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

• This treaty was adopted on 7th July 2017, and was opened for signatures on 20th September 2017.
• It entered into force on 22th January 2021.
• Not all the member states voted. 122 states voted in favour. The Netherlands voted against, while Singapore abstained from voting. 69 states did not vote, including all the states possessing nuclear weapons and every NATO state.

India’s Stand on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

• India has said that it attaches substantial importance to seeing a world without nuclear weapons. It is committed to nuclear disarmament.
• However, India did not participate in these negotiations for the TPNW.
• India also clarified that it would not become a party to the treaty.
• The reason behind this non-participation is that India does not believe the TPNW adds any value to customary international law, nor does it set any new guidelines or principles.
• However, India’s commitment to nuclear disarmament is validated by a working paper titled “Nuclear Disarmament”, which India has submitted to the UN General Assembly and the Conference on Disarmament.
• India released this statement on 22 January 2021.

Given below are a few other UPSC Syllabus related links for IAS exam preparation:

Details of the TPNW

In a nutshell, some details of the TPNW are as follows –

• Preamble

The 24-paragraph preamble highlights several important reasons why nuclear weapons are dangerous and catastrophic to humanity. It reiterates the value of several disarmament agreements such as NPT (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons), CTBT (Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty) and nuclear-weapon-free zone agreements. Moreover, the preamble also highlights the right of States to use nuclear energy for peaceful reasons such as energy production.

• Prohibitions (Article 1)

State parties that have accepted the TPNW have agreed to the following. They will refuse to perform the following actions with nuclear weapons:

• Acquire
• Develop
• Install
• Manufacture
• Possess
• Produce
• Station
• Stockpile
• Threaten to use
• Transfer
• Use

Moreover, they will also abstain from assisting in any prohibited atomic activity.

• Declarations (Article 2)

All these participatory States committed to the TPNW are obligated to declare the following when joining the treaty:

1. Whether this State has removed a previous nuclear weapons program.
2. Whether this State has atomic weapons.
3. Lastly, whether this State holds another country’s nuclear weapons in its territory.

If any State holds another country’s nuclear weapons, it should remove them. It should also remove its atomic weapons.

• Safeguards (Article 3)

Those states not having nuclear weapons must have a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency.

• The Nuclear-weapon States Seeking to Join the Treaty (Article 4)

States that possess nuclear weapons can join the treaty in two ways:

1. Destroy and join: In this case, these states will have to destroy their nuclear weapons and join this treaty. To achieve this end, they will need to cooperate with a competent international body to verify their dismantlement of nukes.
2. Join and destroy: In this case, these states will first join this treaty and then dismantle their nukes. Those states that opt for this route must remove their nukes from operational status, and submit a plan for their destruction, within 60 days of joining this treaty.

Further, it will be necessary to note that India has spent $2.3 billion in building and maintaining nuclear weapons. Currently, India possesses 150 nuclear weapons. Moreover, India has also refrained from signing the CTBT and the NPT.