States Parties to Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to Hold Third Meeting at Headquarters, 3-7 March
NEW YORK, 20 February (Office for Disarmament Affairs) — The third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will be held at the United Nations Headquarters from 3 to 7 March. Ambassador Akan Rakhmetullin (Kazakhstan) was elected as President.
The Treaty was adopted on 7 July 2017 at the United Nations and entered into force on 22 January 2021. It was the first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty to be negotiated in more than two decades. United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has called the Treaty “an important step towards the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons and a strong demonstration of support for multilateral approaches to nuclear disarmament”.
The third Meeting of States Parties will hold a thematic debate on the risks for humanity of nuclear conflict and its devastating humanitarian consequences. States parties will also consider the status and operation of the Treaty, addressing issues related to universality; the total elimination of nuclear weapons; victim assistance, environmental remediation and international cooperation and assistance; and security concerns. Other topics to be considered include scientific and technical advice for the effective implementation of the Treaty, the complementarity of the Treaty with the existing nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime and implementing the gender provisions of the Treaty.
The Meeting is expected to adopt a political declaration.
The period since the conclusion of the first Meeting of States Parties in April 2022 saw the appointment of a Scientific Advisory Group, which presented its report (document TPNW/MSP/2023/8) at the second Meeting of States Parties. Since the second Meeting of States Parties in December 2023, five additional States have become parties to the Treaty.
The Treaty contains, inter alia, a comprehensive set of prohibitions on participating in any nuclear weapon-related activities. This includes undertakings not to develop, test, produce, acquire, possess, stockpile, use or threaten to use nuclear weapons. The Treaty also prohibits the deployment of nuclear weapons on national territory, as well as the provision of assistance to any State in the conduct of prohibited activities.
The Treaty requires States parties to assist individuals affected by the use or testing of nuclear weapons, as well as to take environmental remediation measures in areas under their jurisdiction or control that have been contaminated due to the testing or use of nuclear weapons. States parties are required to cooperate with one another to facilitate the Treaty’s implementation.
To date, 73 States have ratified or acceded to the Treaty and 94 have signed it.
Media Contacts for the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, UN Secretariat, S-30FW, email: [email protected].