Dear Friend --

With just over a week to go before the start of the first Meeting of States Parties to the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), I am delighted to let you know that the treaty has just gained a new state party: Guatemala!

With this ratification, the treaty has also reached an exciting new milestone: Central America is now the first entire region to join the TPNW. This is a powerful signal to the nuclear-armed states of the growing support for a world without nuclear weapons. As Maria Eugenia Villarreal (a long-time Guatemala-based ICAN campaigner who represents SEHLAC on ICAN's steering group) puts it: “The states of this region are leading the way to a nuclear-weapon-free world. Nuclear weapons are a global menace. They must be totally abolished.” 

The timing of this ratification is also significant. Guatemala is the third country to ratify the TPNW since Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February, which has brought the very real risks involved in nuclear deterrence back to the forefront of global politics. Next week, all eyes will turn to Vienna to see how the world rallies against nuclear weapons at the very first global governmental conference about these weapons of mass destruction since the start of the conflict. 

We have good reason to expect more ratifications very soon . . . stay tuned!

Seth Shelden,
United Nations Liaison 
ICAN

PS - Speaking of the exciting week ahead, have you registered for the Nuclear Ban Forum yet? Whether you’re joining us in person or online, you can get your tickets here.

It’s time to end nuclear weapons.

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