The first meeting of the Contracting Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPAN) will be held in Vienna from 21 to 23 June. The TPAN reiterates and reinforces the commitments of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), establishes humanitarian measures and offers a path to the elimination of those weapons in an orderly, safe and verifiable manner.
The TPAN came into force in January 2021. So far, it has been signed by 86 countries, of which 62 have ratified it. Brazil played a prominent role in negotiating the treaty and was the first to sign it in 2017, but has not yet ratified it. Therefore, he will attend the meeting as a signatory, not as a full member of the instrument.
The meeting will be an important opportunity to advance the implementation of the treaty and facilitate the achievement of the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. It is expected the adoption of substantive documents that will corroborate the commitments assumed and indicate specific actions to be carried out, in addition to the approval of a political declaration and an action plan.
Among the proposals already made are setting deadlines for nuclear countries that adhere to the TPAN to eliminate their weapons and for those who harbor these weapons in their territories to remove them. The TPAN, by the way, is the first international instrument that prohibits the stationing of nuclear weapons in third countries. Another proposal to be examined is the definition of a deadline for the destruction of all nuclear weapons. TPAN, however, is not a finished work; much effort will still be needed to make your lofty purposes a reality.
At the present time, the international community is once again faced with serious challenges to the maintenance of peace and security. The United Nations Charter, signed by all 193 countries in the world, establishes the prohibition of the use or threat of use of force in international relations and the obligation to resolve disputes by peaceful means.
However, countries armed with the most cruel and indiscriminate weapons ever invented – nuclear weapons – continue to seek an illusory supremacy and to spend enormous financial resources to improve more and more the destructive potential that they have. At the same time, they affirm their intention to use atomic power in the circumstances they deem appropriate and refuse to participate in any initiatives that could lead to effective disarmament measures.
A single nuclear bomb dropped on a major city would instantly kill a large portion of the population. Many more would soon perish, victims of radiation and other highly pernicious effects. The detonation of just a fraction of the existing arsenals would cause irreversible environmental damage and could lead to the extinction of the human species.
Humanity needs to free itself from complacency in relation to these very serious dangers. The accumulation of weapons of mass destruction does not increase the security of their possessors and directly threatens the security of all countries.
In its Constitution and as part of the main international and regional instruments to which it is a part, Brazil has committed itself not to obtain nuclear weapons. The conclusion of the ratification process of the TPAN by Congress is a matter of national interest and will confirm the commitments assumed, as well as the peaceful vocation and Brazilian leadership in the search for a world free of nuclear weapons.
