The groundbreaking Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons created the first comprehensive ban on nuclear weapons under international law. Article 1 of the Treaty makes it illegal to: develop, test, produce, manufacture, acquire, possess, stockpile, transfer, receive, use, or even threaten to use nuclear weapons or explosive nuclear devices.

 

Countries can’t help, urge, support or supply anybody else to do any of those things, or allow any of it to happen in their jurisdiction or under their control. This includes companies that build, banks that finance, and investments that support nuclear weapons. Once 50 countries ratify the Treaty it will enter into legal force for countries that have signed and ratified it.

 

State parties to the Treaty are also obligated under article 6 to provide assistance to victims of nuclear weapons testing and use and to remediate environments that have been contaminated through use and testing. The Treaty also acknowledged the disproportionate impact that nuclear weapons testing and use have had on women, girls, and indigenous peoples.