The Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty entered into force at midnight on Friday, after having been ratified by the necessary 50 countries. It was initially approved by the General Assembly of the United Nations (UN) in 2017.
It is assumed as the first international agreement that completely prohibits nuclear weapons, with the aim of leading to their total elimination. However, it was not signed by Portugal because it “does not respond to disarmament”.
The Portuguese Foreign Minister explained this Wednesday that Portugal has not signed the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty because he considers that it does not respond to the need for disarmament and does not observe the security concerns of many countries.
The Nuclear Weapons Prohibition Treaty “is not the answer” to the need to achieve a nuclear weapons-free world, “since it does not take into account the legitimate security concerns of many countries and the international situation,” said Augusto Santos Silva to the online newspaper SeteMargens.
“In addition, it lacks significant practical value in terms of its objectives and implementation, since it was negotiated in absentia from all countries that have nuclear weapons”, added the minister, pointing out the fact that the treaty does not establish “credible and to monitor their eventual compliance ”.
When it was approved by the UN, the treaty was considered “a historic decision”, mainly because it took place within a framework of positions taken by political leaders and influential appeals for a world without nuclear weapons, explained the professor and researcher of International Relations, Luís Moita, in an article published in the same newspaper.
“Abolishing nuclear weapons is a responsibility of our generation”, stressed the expert, considering that “it would be unforgivable” if the treaty came into force “in the indifference of the political world, in the silence of religious communities, in the forgetfulness by the press and in alienation from public opinion ”.
Although he admits that several regional agreements for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons have already been signed, Luís Moita stresses that this treaty is “entirely new” because “it is not limited to regional commitments or reduction purposes, but to prohibit the existence of nuclear weapons. ”.
* with Lusa
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