Ibero-American Alliance for Peace celebrates entering into force of TNPW
On 22 January 2021 the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) entered into force. From this day on, it will be prohibited to develop, test, produce, manufacture, acquire, deploy, or threaten to use nuclear weapons by the signatory states. The Treaty is the first instrument of international humanitarian law to mitigate the catastrophic humanitarian consequences caused by the use and testing of nuclear weapons.
Negotiations on the treaty began at the United Nations in March 2017 in New York. The Treaty was approved by 122 countries at the UN General Assembly on July 7, 2017.
This being a historic step for humanity in the matter of disarmament, for the Ibero-American Alliance for Peace (AIPP) it is a cause for celebration. Finally, humanity will have a legally binding instrument that we hope will be sufficiently dissuasive so that we will never repeat the catastrophe of the bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 75 years ago.
To date, a total of 51 countries have ratified the Treaty, including 12 countries in the Latin American region: Bolivia, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. We note that none of the NATO states have signed or ratified the Treaty, so Spain and Portugal show their support for nuclear weapons. It is urgent that all states commit to clear security policies for peace, and sign and ratify the Treaty. We hope in the future all the countries of the Ibero-American region and the world will ratify and adhere to it.
