January 22, 2026 marked the fifth anniversary of the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW)!
On January 22, 2021, the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force. The TPNW makes all facets of nuclear weapons illegal under international law, whether it be possessing, developing, testing, using or threatening to use, etc. This reinforces nuclear non-proliferation treaties, and strengthens norms against nuclear weapons. It has strengthened the international safeguards regime administered by the International Atomic Energy Agency and reinforced the global norm against nuclear testing. The TPNW also calls for meetings of states parties to be held on a biennial basis and review conferences at six-year intervals to consider and make decisions on the implementation of the Treaty and make any action plans or additional protocols.
95 countries are signatories to the Treaty, and 74 of them have taken it one step further and ratified the Treaty! The most recent ratifier was Ghana in September! So far, no nuclear weapons states have signed the Treaty. The TPNW anniversary is therefore an opportunity to put pressure on the U.S. to sign on to the Treaty and remind others that for 5 years nuclear weapons have been illegal under international law. The Treaty’s rising membership reflects a growing consensus among most of the world’s countries that the extreme threat nuclear weapons pose to all humanity is intolerable.
Local Action to Promote the TPNW
In Livermore, we celebrated the 5th anniversary of the TPNW’s entry into force on Monday, January 22 from 4:30 to 5:30 PM at the Livermore Lab West Gate.
We held 8-foot banners in the lawn area in front of the nuclear weapons lab where workers and others read the positive messages–we even received some supportive honks from people driving by! We also read excerpts of the Treaty and spoke about the impacts of the Treaty and the importance of the day.
Below are some pictures from the day
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