how did the Conference of States in Vienna go
One week after its conclusion, some appropriate perspective assessments can be made on the results of the first Conference of States parties to the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). And one can also predict the impact that the exchange made during what the international campaign for the abolition of nuclear weapons (Ican) has called the “Nuclear Ban Week” in Vienna will have on the path of civil society for nuclear disarmament (a week of meetings, workshop, an analysis in which the Conference on humanitarian friends wanted by the Austrian government and the first meeting of global parliamentarians for the TPNW also found space. “The Forum on the banning of nuclear weapons, the Humanitarian Conference and the Conference of the States Parties were full of young and new activists, coming from all corners of the world – said with satisfaction Beatrice Fihn, executive director of Ican-. This is a clear sign that our nuclear disarmament movement is reasoning with the people and becoming stronger and stronger ”.
The main element that can be drawn from the Vienna days is that the countries and all international civil society organizations committed to the path of the Treaty are determined and convinced to live as a concrete perspective, not just as a declaration of ideal principles. Despite the boycotts and the obstruction of the nuclear powers and their allied countries, the path traced by the TPNW cannot be overshadowed or reduced to mere rhetoric. You are also highlighted inside an analysis of Chatham House (the research institute on international relations linked to the British government) the Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty “is here to stay”, that is, it is a reality of international politics that cannot be ignored.
What will make it impossible to avoid considering the TPNW in any comparison on nuclear disarmament (which, we recall, NATO itself identifies as a crucial and fundamental objective, also in the light of joint declaration starting 2022 of the five official nuclear actions: “nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”) is the detailed plan and the 50 points accompanying the Vienna declaration, the final approved by the Conference. A political declaration which in itself already constitutes a stronger multilateral declaration against the threat of the use of nuclear weapons because, but which acquires even more significance, the steps by which these aspirations can be realized have been outlined.
The “Action Plan” linked to the Vienna Declaration is a unicum if we go to analyze other final documents of Conferences to an International Treaty as they include in their civil societies, the affected civil societies, academics and decision-making objectives, as well as the concrete and temporal commitments undertaken by States.
The States parties to the TPNW expressed their alarm and dismay at the threats to use nuclear weapons and were unequivocally condemned “all circumstances and any nuclear threat, whether explicit or implicit and underlying the circumstances”. Affirming that Treaty action is more necessary than ever in these circumstances, it was decided to “proceed with its implementation, with the aim of further stigmatizing and delegitimizing nuclear weapons and constantly building a solid global peremptory norm against them. “. The Declaration also reaffirmed the Treaty’s humanitarian basis and the moral, ethical and security imperatives which inspired and motivated its negotiation and which now guide its implementation in full complementarity with international disarmament and non-proliferation regimes, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), pledging to continue to support all measures that can effectively allow nuclear disarmament.
The Declaration concludes with a key phrase: “Faced with the catastrophic risks posed by nuclear weapons and in the interest of the very survival of humanity […] We will not stop until the last state has acceded to the Treaty, the last warhead has been dismantled and destroyed and nuclear weapons have not been totally eliminated from Earth ”.
But also the development of the days of the Conference saw significant results, well before the final documents. Five so-called “umbrella” states (Norway, Germany, Australia, Holland and Belgium) participated in the work: although there is still a lot to do to convince them to join the nuclear treaty, it is important to recognize this has been a remarkable achievement for our partners in these countries. Unfortunately, Italy did not have the political courage to be present, despite requests from Parliament and civil society. An evident “lost opportunity”, as defined by the Italian Peace and Disarmament and Senzatomica Network (partner of Ican in Italy and promoters of the “Italy, think again” mobilization) which, however, will not preclude our country from being able to approach the contents of the Treaty , in particular with regard to the “positive obligations” envisaged in favor of action to support the victims of nuclear weapons and tests and environmental remedies.
Meanwhile, it should be noted that in Vienna for the first time the financial institutions participated in the Treaty meetings as interested parties. And with a speech in plenary (read by Ugo Biggeri, president of Etica Sgr) that never happened before in the context of an international investment agreement, I disarmed a series of financial institutions representing 230 billion euros sent a strong message of support and Solidarity with member states and have the support of the issue of divestment from production and maintenance of nuclear arsenals as a way of implementing the TPNW. At the same time, the first Conference of parliamentary supporters of the Treaty took place, an opportunity to create relationships and connections between the institutional representatives of many countries and to draw up a joint declaration that can favor it.
And, almost muted with respect to all the important initiatives and news of the participation against nuclear weapons, just in the days of Vienna came the news of three new states to the TPNW, from three different continents: East Timor, Grenada and Cabo Verde.
Further demonstration that the road towards a true and global nuclear disarmament continues thanks also to the increasing momentum for the Treaty for the prohibition of nuclear weapons.
Francesco Vignarca is the campaign coordinator of the Italian rhythm and disarmament network
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