Context:

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), or the Nuke Ban Treaty, is set to enter into force soon.

Explain: TPNW

• The TPNW contains provisions that prohibit states from participating in any nuclear-weaponsrelated activities including development, testing, possession, stockpile, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons.  Signatories are required “to prevent and suppress any activity prohibited under the TPNW undertaken by persons or on territory under its jurisdiction or control.”
• In 2016, the U.N. General Assembly decided to hold a conference for the negotiation of the treaty.
• The conference took place in March 2017.
• The treaty was subsequently adopted at the United Nations on July 7, 2017, and was opened for signature by the U.N. Secretary-General on September 20, 2017.
• When Honduras ratified the treaty in late October, it reached the requisite 50 ratifications and is set to enter into force on January 22, 2021.

The TPNW & the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

• The NPT has 191 state parties, making it one of the most widely subscribed to international agreements.
  • Five state parties (China, France, Russia, United Kingdom, United States) are acknowledged to possess nuclear weapons pending their elimination pursuant to Article VI of the treaty.
  • All other NPT members are obligated, subject to safeguards monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), not to acquire nuclear weapons.
• Similarly, members of the TPNW are obligated not to acquire nuclear arms subject to IAEA safeguards, and the importance of the NPT to international peace and security is recognized in the preamble to the TPNW.
• But the TPNW goes further than the NPT: Any member of the TPNW is barred from “inducing” a state to use or threaten nuclear weapons on its behalf.

India’s stand on the treaty

• India had rejected the treaty for two main reasons.
  • Not negotiated in the right forum: First, because it was not negotiated in the right forum or the right manner.
  • Lack of attention to important areas: India’s second criticism has been on lack of attention to issues of verification and compliance.
• With such fundamental questions left unanswered, India found the treaty insuffi cient to promote real disarmament.