People hold letters reading #NUCLEARBAN in New York City, in support of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which took effect on Friday. Credit: LightRocket via Getty Images
U.N. Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Takes Effect, Without The U.S. And Others By
at 8:14 am NPR
A U.N. treaty outlawing nuclear weapons went into effect on Friday, having been ratified by at least 50 countries. But the ban is largely symbolic: The U.S. and the world s other nuclear powers have not signed the treaty. For the first time in history, nuclear weapons are going to be illegal in international law, Elayne Whyte, Costa Rica s former U.N. ambassador who oversaw the treaty s creation, tells NPR s Geoff Brumfiel.
People hold letters reading #NUCLEARBAN in New York City, in support of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which took effect on Friday.
A U.N. treaty outlawing nuclear weapons went into effect on Friday, having been ratified by at least 50 countries. But the ban is largely symbolic: The U.S. and the world s other nuclear powers have not signed the treaty. For the first time in history, nuclear weapons are going to be illegal in international law, Elayne Whyte, Costa Rica s former U.N. ambassador who oversaw the treaty s creation, tells NPR s Geoff Brumfiel.
The ban prohibits countries from producing, testing, acquiring, possessing or stockpiling nuclear weapons. It also outlaws the transfer of the weapons and forbids signatories from allowing any nuclear explosive device to be stationed, installed or deployed in their territory.
Activists in New York City show their support for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which took effect on Friday. Image: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images
A U.N. treaty outlawing nuclear weapons went into effect on Friday, having been ratified by at least 50 countries. But the ban is largely symbolic: The U.S. and the world s other nuclear powers have not signed the treaty. For the first time in history, nuclear weapons are going to be illegal in international law, Elayne Whyte, Costa Rica s former U.N. ambassador who oversaw the treaty s creation, tells NPR s Geoff Brumfiel.