https://www.icanw.org/2026_3_things_anticipating
Celebrating five years of the nuclear ban treaty
On 22 January, we’ll mark five years since nuclear weapons officially became illegal under international law. That’s not symbolic — it’s transformative.
ICAN and partners around the world will commemorate the moment that nuclear weapons finally became illegal. With celebrations, seminars, screenings, actions and activism across the globe. This anniversary is a chance to reflect on how far we’ve come — and to build momentum for the work ahead. The ban treaty has changed the global conversation. Now we’re making sure it changes reality.
Evidence for action: exposing the myths of nuclear deterrence
Nuclear deterrence is built on theory. Our campaign is built on facts.
Throughout the year, we’ll be working with our partners, scientists, health experts, economists and governments to make one truth unavoidable: any use of nuclear weapons would be catastrophic.
The evidence is clear. Nuclear weapons:
- threaten public health
- destabilise societies
- devastate ecosystems and undermine food systems
- have consequences that would last for decades.
We’ll use this evidence to challenge decision-makers, dismantle dangerous deterrence myths, and demand an end to the billions spent on weapons that put all life on Earth at risk.
Diplomacy that protects people, not power
Real security doesn’t come from weapons of mass destruction. It comes from negotiation and cooperation.
ICAN is working closely with governments that support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) to ensure diplomacy in 2026 reduces nuclear risks and advances disarmament. With two major nuclear weapons treaties under review, we’ll seize opportunities to:
- strengthen global norms against nuclear weapons
- hold governments accountable to their commitments
- push disarmament from words into action
Alongside these milestones, we’ll also publish impactful and informative reports, amplify survivor voices, engage media worldwide and support our partners.
The risks around nuclear weapons are growing, making our work to educate, empower and act together more urgent than ever.
The U.N. Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
https://www.icanw.org/the_treaty
On 7 July 2017 – following a decade of advocacy by ICAN and its partners – an overwhelming majority of the world’s nations adopted a landmark global agreement to ban nuclear weapons, known officially as the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. It entered into force on 22 January 2021.
Prior to the treaty’s adoption, nuclear weapons were the only weapons of mass destruction not subject to a comprehensive ban, despite their catastrophic, widespread and persistent humanitarian and environmental consequences. The new agreement fills a significant gap in international law.
It prohibits nations from developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, transferring, possessing, stockpiling, using or threatening to use nuclear weapons, or allowing nuclear weapons to be stationed on their territory. It also prohibits them from assisting, encouraging or inducing anyone to engage in any of these activities.
A nation that possesses nuclear weapons may join the treaty, so long as it agrees to destroy them in accordance with a legally binding, time-bound plan. Similarly, a nation that hosts another nation’s nuclear weapons on its territory may join, so long as it agrees to remove them by a specified deadline.
Nations are obliged to provide assistance to all victims of the use and testing of nuclear weapons and to take measures for the remediation of contaminated environments. The preamble acknowledges the harm suffered as a result of nuclear weapons, including the disproportionate impact on women and girls, and on indigenous peoples around the world.
The treaty was negotiated at the United Nations headquarters in New York in March, June and July 2017, with the participation of more than 135 nations, as well as members of civil society. It opened for signature on 20 September 2017 and entered into force on 22 January 2021. It is permanent in nature and legally binding on those nations that have joined it.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is a coalition of non-governmental organisations in more than one hundred countries promoting adherence to and implementation of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
This website was made possible thanks to the generous support of New Zealand and Swiss Loterie Romande.
