The Birth of a Ban Lessons learned from past weapons prohibitions to inform the future of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Alicia Sanders-Zakre

1925 Geneva Protocol model Interim measure Took decades for weapons possessors to sign More limited in scope than TPNW, fewer signatories Norm building Comprehensive elimination conventions followed Soldiers with the British Machine Gun Corps wear gas masks in 1916 during World War I’s first Battle of the Somme Source: General Photographic Agency/Getty Images

Lessons for TPNW – Geneva Protocol Could strengthen the norm against the weapon Could take decades for a follow on nuclear elimination convention with the support of weapons possessors Norm may be violated in the meantime Opening for signature of the CWC in 1993. Source: United Nations

Landmine Ban Treaty/ Cluster Munition Convention model Humanitarian focus Non-traditional process Non-traditional actors Intended to be the definitive weapons ban Landmine clearing signal Source: United Nations

Lessons for TPNW – Landmine/Cluster Munitions model Strong treaty adherence by states-parties Weapon possessing states likely will not join the ban immediately, but it may have some impact on their behavior Continued civil society involvement May be too soon to tell Jean Chretien, Canadian prime minister, presents instruments for ratification at the opening for signature ceremony of the Landmine Ban Treaty, December 3, 1997. Source: United Nations

Conclusions Unlikely that ban will harm progress towards elimination All states can take steps to strengthen the norm against nuclear possession and use to advance shared goal Restarting U.S./Russian arms control dialogues Advocating for CTBT and FMCT Implementing 2010 NPT Action Plan Constructive engagement in 2020 NPT Review Cycle Sustained civil society involvement Izumi Nakamitsu, UN undersecretary-general and high representative for disarmament affairs, addresses the NPT preparatory committee meeting in Vienna, as Ambassador Henk Cor van der Kwast of the Netherlands, the committee chairman, looks on. Source: Agata Wozniak/ UNIS Vienna