Voice of America
23 Jan 2021, 04:05 GMT+10
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres and The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement welcomed the entry into force Friday of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the first nuclear disarmament instrument in more than two decades.
The Treaty, endorsed by 51 states, mandates assistance, such as medical care, rehabilitation and psychological support to all victims under their jurisdiction. It also obliges them to clear areas known to be contaminated by nuclear use or testing.
"The survivors of nuclear explosions and nuclear tests offered tragic testimonies and were a moral force behind the Treaty," Stephane Dujarric, Spokesman for Guterres said in a statement.
Nuclear disarmament remains the highest priority of the U.N., the statement said, adding that countries around the world must take urgent action for the elimination of such weapons and prevent the human and environmental catastrophes the use of them would cause.
The Secretary-General is calling on all states "to work together to realize this ambition to advance common security and collective safety," the statement said.
"Today is a victory for humanity. This Treaty - the result of more than 75 years of work - sends a clear signal that nuclear weapons are unacceptable from a moral, humanitarian, and now a legal point of view," President of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) Peter Maurer said in a joint statement by ICRC and International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent (IFRC).
"The Treaty presents each of us with a really simple question: Do we want nuclear weapons to be banned or not?" Francesco Rocca, President of IFRC said. "The entry into force of the Nuclear Ban Treaty is the beginning, not the end, of our efforts," Rocca said.
The ICRC and IFRC urged world leaders, including those of nuclear powers, to join the path "toward a world free of nuclear weapons, in line with long-standing international obligations, notably those under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."
The world's major nuclear-armed states, including the United States and Russia have not endorsed TPNW.
Get a daily dose of Atlanta Leader news through our daily email, its complimentary and keeps you fully up to date with world and business news as well.
Publish news of your business, community or sports group, personnel appointments, major event and more by submitting a news release to Atlanta Leader.
More InformationWASHINGTON D.C.: President Joe Biden says he expects there to be enough vaccinations for all Americans by the end of ...
HOLTVILLE, California: An overloaded SUV carrying as many as 25 passengers slammed into a semi-truck in California on Monday, killing ...
ALBANY, New York: New York's new coronavirus-period dance rules will allow some dancing at parties. The state said that when ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: Looking beyond the $1.9 trillion COVID-19 relief bill, President Joe Biden and other lawmakers are establishing the foundations ...
WASHINGTON DC - To boost vaccination rates among minorities, particularly Black and brown Americans, senior Biden administration officials say the ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. Justice Department has announced it will appeal a court ruling that the federal prohibition on evictions ...
CARSON CITY, Nevada: Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak has proposed allowing technology companies specializing in blockchain technology to develop "Innovation Zones" ...
Walmart has hired two former Goldman Sachs bankers to help run its new and unnamed fintech venture.Walmart hired Omer Ismail, ...
NEW YORK, New York - U.S. stocks fell sharply Thursday, spurred on by rising bond yields. "There is a fork ...
WASHINGTON D.C.: The U.S. securities regulator, the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), has suspended trading in the securities of 15 ...
A California federal judge has issued the final approval of a $650 million Facebook class action privacy settlement, handing down ...
DUBLIN, Ireland: Ireland's manufacturing sector grew slightly for the second consecutive month in February, after a major decline at the ...