Through coordinated and sustained effort on the part of governments,
NGOs and broader civil society at the international, regional and local
level, we will achieve a world free of nuclear weapons.
International cooperation to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction has a proven track record. The use of both chemical and biological weapons has been outlawed and the Chemical Weapons Convention (1992) and the Biological Weapons Convention (1975) oversee their elimination.
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which came into force in 1970, is the only legally-binding international agreement on nuclear disarmament. It commits 183 of the world's governments to never develop nuclear weapons and the five official nuclear powers (US, Russian Federation, UK, France and China) to the total elimination of their nuclear stockpiles.
The only countries that are not part of the NPT are India, Israel and Pakistan. North Korea's withdrawal from the treaty has not been accepted officially, and remains in doubt.
Countries like Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Japan, South Africa and South Korea have forsaken their nuclear ambitions. And Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine inherited nuclear weapons after the break-up of the Soviet Union, but rejected them, choosing instead a new identity as independent non-nuclear weapon states.
These countries have lead the way by getting rid of their weapons. Once the decision is made, disarmament can happen quite quickly.
International cooperation to stop the spread of weapons of mass destruction has a proven track record. The use of both chemical and biological weapons has been outlawed and the Chemical Weapons Convention (1992) and the Biological Weapons Convention (1975) oversee their elimination.
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which came into force in 1970, is the only legally-binding international agreement on nuclear disarmament. It commits 183 of the world's governments to never develop nuclear weapons and the five official nuclear powers (US, Russian Federation, UK, France and China) to the total elimination of their nuclear stockpiles.
The only countries that are not part of the NPT are India, Israel and Pakistan. North Korea's withdrawal from the treaty has not been accepted officially, and remains in doubt.
Countries like Argentina, Brazil, Germany, Japan, South Africa and South Korea have forsaken their nuclear ambitions. And Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine inherited nuclear weapons after the break-up of the Soviet Union, but rejected them, choosing instead a new identity as independent non-nuclear weapon states.
These countries have lead the way by getting rid of their weapons. Once the decision is made, disarmament can happen quite quickly.
