Work faster to ratify treaty

THE article “Eminent Buddhist leader urges halt to nuclear weapons and killer robots” (Sunday Star, July 7) is timely as this year marks the second anniversary of the adoption of the UN Treaty on The Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) by the UN General Assembly on July 7, 2017.

But this treaty is still at an infant stage and cannot fully serve its purpose unless more countries are committed to ratifying it. As a common citizen, I find it shocking and depressing to know that since it was opened for signature by the secretary-general of the United Nations on Sept 20, 2017, only 70 states have signed it and fewer still (23 states) have ratified it. This treaty will only come into force if it is ratified by at least 50 countries.