President Michael D. Higgins welcomes signature of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Date: Thu 21st Sep, 2017 | 13:34
President Michael D. Higgins today welcomed the opening up for signature of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the world’s first legally-binding treaty prohibiting the development, testing, manufacturing, purchasing or possessing of nuclear weapons.
President Higgins described it as “a necessary re-affirmation by the representatives of the people of the world of their abhorrence of the continued threat of nuclear weapons.”
“The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, adopted in July this year and now formally signed by a large number of UN member states, marks both a significant moment in history and a highpoint of international cooperation.
As President of Ireland, I welcome the adoption of this Treaty banning the development, testing, manufacturing, purchasing or possessing of nuclear weapons.
From the outset of its membership of the United Nations, Ireland has been a lead country in promoting and advocating the implementation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is the result of decades’ worth of work by a number of determined countries, among which Ireland played a prominent role. I salute all those countries in the Core Group of States who initiated this process. That they did so in close cooperation with activists and researchers in civil society organisations around the world is a further ground for hope.
The adoption and coming into force of the Treaty marks the widespread acceptance of the threat to humanity posed by nuclear weapons. Those critics who have opposed and decried this Treaty as being without merit unless it had the assent of those who insist on retaining nuclear weapons are suggesting little less than a veto for the existing nuclear powers on policy making in this area.
I warmly congratulate the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade for its determined and sustained commitment to this Treaty and its resolute openness and cooperation with a wide range of civil society actors.”