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Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, One Year Anniversary

January 29, 2022
Asheville Citizen Times
Letter to Editor by Terry Clark

 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, One Year Anniversary

January 22 marks the one year anniversary of the entry into force of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). The treaty bans the production, possession, storage and use of nuclear weapons. It is based upon Humanitarian Law in that the consequences of the use of nuclear weapons are so devastating that their use would be a crime against humanity. The treaty serves as a call to the nuclear weapons possessing states to work towards the abolition of nuclear weapons. It has been ratified by more than fifty nations, yet not by any of the nuclear weapons state. It is widely recognized that nuclear war should never be fought and that the death and destruction would be such that there would be no winner. Yet the nuclear weapons states are all spending huge amounts of money to upgrade their arsenals. The Biden Administration will shortly release their Nuclear Posture Review. We need to urge President Biden to lead the United States to ratify the treaty and outline an international plan for abolition of nuclear weapons. It is the only path whereby their intentional or accidental use can be prevented.

Terry Clark, MD, Candler

Mission Statement

PREVENTING WHAT WE CANNOT CURE: Physicians for Social Responsibility is the medical and public health voice working to prevent the use or spread of nuclear weapons and to slow, stop and reverse global warming and the toxic degradation of the environment.