India’s take on “Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons”

India recently made an announcement that it does not support the “Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons” and it is not bound by any of the obligations of the treaty.

Highlights

• The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) had approved the “Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons” in the year 2017.
• However, the nine countries that possess the nuclear weapons did not support it.
• The treaty was not supported by the NATO alliance as well.
• Despite that, the treaty came into force on January 22, 2021.

India’s stand

• India maintains that, it will continue to provide the high priority and remain committed to the universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable nuclear disarmament.
• The Ministry of external affairs further said, since India did not participate in negotiations on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, it will not become a party to the Treaty.
• However, India showed its support to the commencement of negotiations on a “comprehensive Nuclear Weapons Convention in the Conference on Disarmament”. It is the only multilateral disarmament negotiating forum that works on the basis of consensus.

Why India does not support the treaty?

India does not support the treaty because, India believes, the treaty does not constitute or contribute to the development of customary international law. Further, the treaty does not provide for any new standards or norms.

Treaty on Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

The treaty is also called as the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty. It is the first legally binding international agreement. It prohibits the nuclear weapons and aims for the total elimination of such weapons. The treaty was adopted on July 7, 2017.  For the member nations, the treaty prohibits development, testing, production, stockpiling, transfer and use of nuclear weapons. The recognized “Nuclear weapon States” are United States, Russia, United Kingdom, China and France. The states that have declared possessing the nuclear weapons include India, Pakistan and North Korea while, Israel is the state that indicated for possessing the nuclear weapons.

Month: Current Affairs - January, 2021