Statement by (Irish) Minister on the 50th Ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. I am pleased that the 50th instrument of ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was deposited yesterday, meaning the Treaty will enter into force on 22 January 2021.

Irish Dept of Foreign Affairs 25th Oct 2020 read more »

Campaigners have hailed a “new chapter” after a key step by the United Nations towards banning nuclear arms. Honduras has become the 50th country to ratify the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons so it will now come into force in 90 days time. But what it will actually achieve remains in doubt because the five recognised nuclear powers have not signed the accord. Supporters hope it will nevertheless have a deterrent effect.

BBC 25th Oct 2020 read more »

The United Nations said Saturday that 50 countries have ratified a U.N. treaty banning nuclear weapons, paving the way for its entry into force on Jan. 22, a move praised by anti-nuclear activists but opposed by the United States and other nuclear powers. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, however, puts on the spot Japan and other countries that shelter under the nuclear umbrella of the United States. U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres commended the 50 countries and saluted “the work of civil society, which has been instrumental in facilitating the negotiation and ratification of the treaty.”

Kyodo News 25th Oct 2020 read more »

France 24 25th Oct 2020 read more »

Guardian 25th Oct 2020 read more »

Now that nuclear weapons are illegal, the Pacific demands truth on decades of testing. Nuclear weapons will soon be illegal. Just over 75 years since their devastation was first unleashed on the world, the global community has rallied to bring into force a ban through the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. Late on Saturday night in New York, the 50th country – the central American nation of Honduras – ratified the treaty. It will become international law in 90 days. For many across the Pacific region, this is a momentous achievement and one that has been long called for. Over the second half of the 20th century 315 nuclear weapons tests were conducted by so-called “friendly” or colonising forces in the Marshall Islands, Kiribati, Australia and Maohi Nui (French Polynesia). The United States, Britain and France used largely colonised lands to test their nuclear weapons, leaving behind not only harmful physical legacies but psychological and political scars as well. Survivors of these tests and their descendants have continued to raise their voices against these weapons. They are vocal resisters and educators, the reluctant but intense knowledge holders of the nuclear reality of our region.

Guardian 25th Oct 2020 read more »

Details of the emergency plan for a nuclear emergency at one of West Berkshire’s atomic weapons factories will be revealed next year. West Berkshire Council was ordered by the government to review and revise its Off-Site Emergency Plan for Atomic Weapons Establishment (AWE) Aldermaston and AWE Burghfield by May 2020. But the council says it has already revised it and “a public version of the plan to be made available in January 2021”. The plan sets how emergency services, the Ministry of Defence, AWE and the council should respond in the event of a nuclear emergency at one of the sites.

Berkshire Live 23rd Oct 2020 read more »

Planet Radio 22nd Oct 2020 read more »

SCOTLAND, its parliament, its government and people will soon have the indisputable backing of the global community in its opposition to the nuclear weapons on the Clyde. This will arise from the entry into force of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) which will fully bind all the states that join it in comprehensive prohibitions and positive obligations for nuclear disarmament. The TPNW irrefutably complements and completes existing international humanitarian law.

The National 22nd Oct 2020 read more »

As the latest United Nations nuclear treaty is on the eve of coming into force, Stephen Colegrave looks at how it might finally end the ethical and moral case for nuclear weapons. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons has been a long time in the making. It is the first legally binding agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons and was originally agreed at the United Nations on 7 July 2017. To enter into force it requires ratification by at least 50 countries. At last, this is in sight. Any day, the fiftieth nation will ratify despite the determined efforts by all NATO countries and others with nuclear weapons.

Byline Times 21st Oct 2020 read more »

A Royal Navy officer has been sent home from the US after reporting to take charge of a submarine’s Trident nuclear missiles while unfit for duty. Lt Cdr Len Louw is under investigation at Faslane naval base in Scotland amid reports he had been drinking. Colleagues raised concerns when the weapons engineering officer arrived for work on HMS Vigilant last month.

BBC 19th Oct 2020 read more »

A Royal Navy officer in charge of the Trident nuclear missiles was found to be drunk whilst on duty when he turned up for a shift with a bag of barbecue chicken.

Daily Mail 19th Oct 2020 read more »

Mirror 18th Oct 2020 read more »

KEIGHLEY Town Council is set to pressure the Government to scrap its nuclear weapons arsenal, writes Chris Pickles. Councillors have passed a motion to encourage the Government to recommit to disarmament provisions set out in the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. The council will write to the Government and the town’s MP, Robbie Moore. Speaking about nuclear weapons, town mayor Councillor Peter Corkindale said: “They should be consigned to the dustbin of history.”

Telegraph and Argus 8th Oct 2020 read more »

Former world leaders urge those now in power to support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The following is an open letter signed by 56 former world leaders and government ministers from 20 NATO countries, plus Japan and South Korea, urging the world’s current leaders to support and join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Beyond Nuclear 5th Oct 2020 read more »

Here’s why the SNP won’t get onboard with calls to ‘lease out’ Faslane/

The National 3rd oct 2020 read more »

A U.N.-adopted nuclear ban treaty is likely to enter into force early next year as the number of signatories is anticipated to reach the needed threshold of 50 soon, possibly later this month, a diplomatic source said Friday. According to the source and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), 46 countries and regions have completed ratification procedures. The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, adopted in 2017, will enter into force 90 days after it has been ratified by at least 50 countries and regions. At least four additional countries have already notified the United Nations of their intention to ratify the treaty, the source and the nonprofit organization said, without revealing the names of any such signatories.

Japan Times 3rd Oct 2020 read more »

U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned Friday that the world is living “in the shadow of nuclear catastrophe,” fueled by growing distrust and tensions between the nuclear powers. The U.N. chief told a high-level meeting to commemorate the recent International Day for Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons that progress on ridding the world of nuclear weapons “has stalled and is at risk of backsliding.” And he said strains between countries that possess nuclear weapons “have increased nuclear risks.”

Daily Mail 2nd Oct 2020 read more »