2 - Adopting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons 2017: A New Dawn, a New Deal, a New Direction in Nuclear Disarmament Law?

Summary

A legacy of the Cold War is that nuclear arms protect nations from attack; a stance that supporters of the TPNW wish to change. Indeed, this author would contend that nuclear weapons do not protect nations but actually threaten national, regional and global security. Many advocates of nuclear disarmament believe that the TPNW marks a new beginning; it was even celebrated with the Norwegian Nobel Peace Prize awarded to the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), at the time, a relatively newly formed civil society organization. The TPNW demonstrates international support to take decisive action to eliminate nuclear weapons and the threat they pose to international peace and security.