Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Enters into Force

On 22nd January, 2021, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) came into force today, 90 days after the deposit of the 50th (Honduras) instrument of ratification.

• Currently, there are 86 signatories and 52 states parties. On January 22, the Kingdom of Cambodia ratified the treaty.

About Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)

Also known as the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty, it is the first legally binding international agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal being their total elimination.

• It was adopted on 7 July 2017 and opened for signature on 20^th September, 2017.

Need

• Nuclear weapons – unlike chemical weapons, biological weapons, landmines and cluster munitions – are not prohibited in a comprehensive and universal manner.
• Even the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 and nuclear-weapon-free zone contains only partial prohibitions.

Salient Features

• It prohibits States Parties from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, acquiring, possessing, or stockpiling nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
• Signatories are barred from transferring or receiving nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices control over such weapons, or any assistance with activities prohibited under the Treaty.
• States are also prohibited from using or threatening to use nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices.
• States Parties cannot allow the stationing, installation, or deployment of nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices in their territory.
• Non-nuclear-weapon states are required to have, at a minimum, a comprehensive safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) “without prejudice” to any future additional agreements.

Significance

• The Treaty is the first multilateral legally-binding instrument of the international humanitarian law to mitigate the catastrophic consequences of using and testing the nuclear weapons.

India’s Stand

• India has not yet signed or ratified the NPTW.
• India remains committed to the policy of No First Use (NFU) against nuclear weapon states and non-use against non-nuclear-weapon states.
• India has consistently voted against an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that welcomes the adoption of the treaty and calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to it “at the earliest possible date”.
• India believes that the treaty does not constitute or contribute to the development of customary international law, nor does it set any new standards or norms.
• India maintained that it recognizes the ‘Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament’-(CD) as the single multilateral disarmament negotiation forum & it is not convinced of the potential of the current treaty to address the disarmament issue.

Effect on Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)

• TPNW will not undermine the NPT, rather it will complement it.
• When two treaties deal with overlapping subject matter, the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties 1969 (VCLT) provides that when the parties to a later treaty do not include all the parties to the earlier treaty, the later treaty does not affect or disrupt the existing treaty relationships for states not joining the new treaty. Thus, in this case, the TPNW cannot supplant the rights and obligations of those parties to the NPT that choose to remain outside the new treaty.
• For NPT parties that do join the TPNW, their obligations complement rather than undermine the NPT because all those obligations are either explicitly or implicitly provided for in the NPT itself already.
• While some claim that prohibiting nuclear testing in the TPNW would strengthen the CTBT by further reinforcing the global moratorium on nuclear testing, others argue that it could undermine the CTBT by creating inconsistencies in between the two treaties.
• The TPNW includes several references to nuclear testing and the CTBT. Its preamble recognizes the “vital importance” of the CTBT “as a core element of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.”