The World Council of Churches has welcomed the formal opening of a treaty to ban nuclear weapons for countries to sign and expressed thanksgiving for the 50 states which have already done so.
The historic Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons was formally opened for signatures on 20th September. Among the 50 countries which have signed it so far are Austria, Malaysia, The Philippines, South Africa and Uruguay. It will enter into force 90 days after 50 nations have ratified it, the final step after signing it. Three nations – the Holy See, Thailand and Guyana – have already done so.
Rev Dr Olav Fykse Tveit, general secretary of the WCC, said this week that by signing the treaty, “these nations have taken a lead in protecting all our countries and the planet that is our home”.
“This new treaty has to potential to save millions of lives, and creation itself, from the most destructive and indiscriminate weapons ever developed by human beings,” he said.
Dr Emily Welty, vice-moderator of the WCC’s Commission of the Churches on International Affairs, was among those who attended the treaty’s opening and signing ceremony.
“This treaty represents the moral courage of the international community – and an active partnership between a wide range of civil society organisations and governments – to condemn one of the most horrific and morally indefensible weapons of our time,” Dr Welty said. “We commit ourselves to continuing to work for a world free of the threat of nuclear weapons.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres said at the ceremony in New York that the treaty was an “important step towards the universally-held goal of a world free of nuclear weapons”. “It is my hope that it will reinvigorate global efforts to achieve it,” he said.
The text of the treaty was adopted on 7th July by 122 of the 193 UN member states. It bans the manufacture, possession and use of nuclear weapons and provides pathways for their eventual elimination. It also requires the provision of aid to victims and environmental remediation.
The WCC, which has long pressed for the creation of such a treaty, has urged national leaders to sign and then quickly ratify the treaty.
