Dear Friend --

As leaders from NATO states prepare for a summit in Brussels next Monday 14 June, we are reminding them that they can and should join the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which entered into force this January. Yesterday, we released a major report making this case, and highlighting the incredible public support for the treaty in many of these countries.

Read the report

Did you know NATO only started calling itself a nuclear alliance in 2010? They would like us to believe that being a NATO member means closing ranks and relying on nuclear weapons and that this is a longstanding, immovable position, but that’s not actually the case. NATO states have held opposing viewpoints on nuclear weapons before, and there is nothing in the North Atlantic Treaty that prevents a NATO member from joining the UN treaty banning nuclear weapons. It’s a matter of political will, and of standing up to the pressure from the nuclear-armed states. 

That’s where these governments should remember that public support for the TPNW in NATO countries is massive. Just a few examples:

• Poll after poll shows that people in NATO states support the TPNW. When asked specifically if their country should join the TPNW, even if they would be the first NATO state to do so, overwhelming majorities still said yes.
• More than 400 cities in NATO states have urged their respective national governments to ratify the treaty, including Paris, Berlin, Amsterdam, Oslo, Barcelona, Edinburgh, Los Angeles, and Washington DC.
• Over one thousand parliamentarians in NATO states are working to bring their respective countries on board, and they are getting results. Despite the resistance from nuclear armed states in NATO, several parties in Belgium, Norway, Germany are working hard to ensure their governments will eventually join the treaty.

We know the internal pressure on these states to get on the right side of history is massive, so we want to use moments like this to ramp up the pressure and hold them accountable every time they follow the nuclear-armed states’ lead and act against their people’s wishes to see a world without nuclear weapons. 

On Monday, we will be following the conversation around #NATOSummit, to keep them sharp on the fact that this alliance does not need to be nuclear at all. Join us? Follow @nuclearban, or jump in on the twitter conversation with #NATOSummit and #NATO2030.

Hope to see you online!
Sincerely,

Daniel Högsta
Campaign Coordinator
ICAN 

It’s time to end nuclear weapons.

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