Today, a new United Nations treaty enters into force.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons makes nuclear weapons illegal in the countries that sign it, and it officially becomes international law today.
In specific terms the Treaty prohibits the development, testing, production and stockpiling of nuclear weapons.
As I write this article, 51 countries have ratified the Treaty and another 86 have signed it. Sadly, the British government has refused to even participate in the treaty talks and insists it will never sign the Treaty.
Despite that unhelpful attitude, I think the Treaty gives peace activists like myself a reason to be cheerful. I firmly believe that the Treaty will change international attitudes to nuclear weapons.
There is evidence that previous treaties to prohibit chemical and biological weapons have helped stigmatise them in the minds of the public. I resolutely believe that this latest Treaty will have a similar effect on public perceptions of nuclear weapons.
I have had many conversations down the years with people who have said they want to get rid of nuclear weapons from our country and our world. However, they then go to say that they support multilateral disarmament rather than the unilateral view taken by Scottish CND.
But today there is a challenge to people who take this view. They can now support and raise awareness of a Treaty that is a multilateral and multinational effort to rid our world and our country of nuclear weapons.
I am a member of the Don’t Bank on the Bomb Scotland Network. The Network is involved in pressuring banks and financial institutions to move away from investments in companies involved in nuclear weapons production and development.
The passing of the Treaty will mean that the Network can now pressurise the likes of Nat West Bank to consider whether they really want to ignore a United Nations Treaty and continue financially supporting companies involved in the deadly world of nuclear weapons.
For me, it goes without saying that the job of the Scottish Peace Movement is to use this ground breaking Treaty as a campaigning resource to help us rid our country and our world of the scourge of nuclear weapons.
Our priority should be to build on the Treaty and redouble our efforts to make people aware of the environmental, financial and safety costs of nuclear weapons.
Nobody has put it better than Rebecca Johnson, Vice President of CND, who welcomed the Treaty when she said:
“If we don’t want nuclear weapons to be used, we have to persuade our government to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and work for its full implementation.”
In the aftermath of the COVID crisis, I think increasing numbers of people will agree that money spent on nuclear weapons could be better spent on the NHS and decent care services for our elderly and vulnerable.
There is now an opportunity for the Westminster Government to take a lead by halting replacement of the Trident nuclear weapons system and using our technical, legal and diplomatic skills to build a more peaceful and stable world.