Humanitarian Impacts of Nuclear Weapons Meet in Nayarit a Huge Success Article 36
go to original February 16, 2014

The Second International Conference on the Humanitarian Impacts of Nuclear Weapons, held in Nayarit, Mexico has been a success beyond all expectations.

The conference has led to a vision, laid out by Mexico, for a diplomatic process to prohibit nuclear weapons. In his summary presented to participating delegates from 146 states, as well as civil society and international organisations, the Chair stated:

".. in the past, weapons have been eliminated after they have been outlawed. We believe this is the path to achieve a world without nuclear weapons.

The broad-based and comprehensive discussions on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons should lead to the commitment of States and civil society to reach new international standards and norms, through a legally binding instrument…

It is the view of the Chair that the Nayarit Conference has shown that time has come to initiate a diplomatic process conducive to this goal. Our belief is that this process should comprise a specific timeframe, the definition of the most appropriate fora, and a clear and substantive framework, making the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons the essence of disarmament efforts.

It is time to take action. The 70th anniversary of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki attacks is the appropriate milestone to achieve our goal. Nayarit is a point of no return."

A new international treaty to ban nuclear weapons is now within reach. The Vienna conference announced by Austria’s Foreign Minister Sebastian Kurz as the Nayarit conference opened, will be the next step in the process and expectations will be high after this success in Nayarit. The Vienna conference must be the start of a diplomatic process to negotiate a new international treaty to ban nuclear weapons. The Mexico conference set out the work that needs to be done before states and civil society get to Vienna at the end of this year, namely:

• identify the optimal forum for treaty negotiations

• lay out a specified timeframe to achieve a new treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons, and

• establish a clear basis for negotiations.

There is a lot of work to do. Civil society through the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) will work day and night to make it happen. After Nayarit, there can be no doubt that the commitment is there for an international ban on nuclear weapons.

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