‘Beginning of the end of nuclear weapons’

Never again: Image made on Aug 6,1945, showing the mushroom cloud of the atomic bomb dropped over the Japanese city of Hiroshima during WWII. About 140,000 people are estimated to have been killed in the attack, including those who survived the bombing itself but died soon afterward due to severe radiation exposure. — Hiroshima Peace Memorial Museum/AFP

ON Friday, many around the world celebrated the first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty to enter into force in 50 years.

The United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) was adopted at the United Nations in 2017 and finally reached the milestone of 50 ratifications in October 2020 (and gained legal force on Jan 22, after a 90-day period). The countries that have signed and ratified include Austria, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa, Nigeria and Thailand. Malaysia ratified the treaty on Sept 30 last year.