US calls for UN members to ditch nuclear weapons ban

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The United States urged members of the United Nations who have ratified a treaty that would ban nuclear weapons to rescind their support for the measure.

According to a letter sent to these countries, first obtained by the Associated Press, the five recognized nuclear-weapons states — the U.S., Russia, Britain, France, and China — “stand unified in our opposition to the potential repercussions” of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons‘s entry into force.

Unlike the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the 2017 treaty prohibits signatories not only from developing their own nuclear weapons but also prevents “any stationing, installation or deployment of any nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices in its territory or at any place under its jurisdiction or control.”

Currently, nuclear weapons agreements allow for a practice called nuclear sharing. For example, Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Germany all host U.S. nuclear weapons. None of these countries have signed or ratified the U.N. treaty, according to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament.

The U.S. wrote that the treaty “turns back the clock on verification and disarmament and is dangerous” to the benefits of the NPT.

“Although we recognize your sovereign right to ratify or accede to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), we believe that you have made a strategic error and should withdraw your instrument of ratification or accession,” the letter said.

“Our opposition to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is well known and has spanned across multiple administrations,” a spokesman for the State Department said. “The TPNW will not result in the elimination of a single nuclear weapon, enhance the security of any state, or contribute in any tangible way to peace and security in the geopolitical reality of the 21st century. For these reasons, not a single state possessing nuclear weapons supports the TPNW.”

The NPT was implemented to prevent spreading nuclear weapons beyond the original five nuclear states, who are also permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. Since the treaty was passed, however, Pakistan, India, and North Korea have confirmed that they are in possession of nuclear weapons, according to the Arms Control Association. Israel is presumed to have nuclear weapons but “has not publicly conducted a nuclear test, does not admit or deny having nuclear weapons, and states that it will not be the first to introduce nuclear weapons in the Middle East. Nevertheless, Israel is universally believed to possess nuclear arms, although it is unclear exactly how many.”

The treaty needs to be ratified by 50 U.N. member states before it enters into force. So far, 47 nations have signed the treaty, according to the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. The Associated Press reports that there are currently about 10 countries working to ratify the treaty. International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Executive Director Beatrice Fihn told the outlet, “We know that there are a few governments that are working toward Friday as the date. … We’re not 100% it will happen, but hopefully it will.”

The unofficial Friday target is the eve of United Nations Day, Oct. 24 — the anniversary of the U.N. Charter’s entry into force.

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