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A treaty banning nuclear weapons

This joint paper by Reaching Critical Will and Article 36 explores the development of a legal framework for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons.


tbnw-coverDespite the growing recognition of the risk of a nuclear weapons detonation, nuclear-armed states and those in military alliances with them continue to rely upon and invest in nuclear weapons. However, the renewed focus on the humantiarian consequences of nuclear weapons has opened space for consideration of the most appropriate political and legal responses to the existence of nuclear weapons.

The ban treaty approach discussed in this paper can bridge the gap between long-held aspirations for nuclear disarmament and the seemingly intractable legal and political landscape that exists today. A new legal instrument could provide a framework for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons. While participation of all states would be welcomed, such a treaty could be developed even without the participation of the nuclear-armed states and would still have significant impact in both normative as well as well practical terms.

A treaty banning nuclear weapons: developing a legal framework for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons looks at possible principles and provisions of such a framework; how it could be accomplished; and its potential normative and practical impacts.

Published in April 2014 by Reaching Critical Will of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom and Article 36

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