Council becomes first in Wales to support new nuclear disarmament treaty

Bangor City Council has become the first Welsh Council to support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The treaty came into force in January and seeks to start a process for effective nuclear disarmament and to unlock the ongoing stalemate in discussions at the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conferences.

There are currently 54 states that have ratified the TPNW, including the Irish Republic, Austria, South Africa, New Zealand, Mexico and the Vatican State. A further 32 states have signed it and are in the process of ratifying it.

To date over 400 towns, cities, counties and federal states have passed TPNW resolutions, including Paris, Berlin, Oslo, Barcelona, Washington DC, Sydney, Amsterdam, Bruges, Geneva, Montreal, Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Chernobyl

Bangor City Council passed their resolution on 26th April – the 35th anniversary of the Chernobyl disaster.

The UK & Ireland Nuclear Free Local Authorities praised the council for its support and said it is aware a number of other councils in the UK are considering passing such resolutions after the upcoming local elections.

“I warmly congratulate Bangor City Council being the first Welsh Council to pass a resolution supporting the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty. I now encourage other Welsh Councils to follow Bangor’s positive lead,” NFLA Welsh Forum Chair, Councillor Ernie Galsworthy, said.

“This Treaty is a positive way to campaign for a nuclear weapons free world that also cares for nuclear test veterans and all those impacted by these awful weapons.

“Towns, cities and counties working together with civil society and the majority of countries within the United Nations on nuclear disarmament has to be the obvious way forward.

“I call on the UK Government to reconsider its recent announcement to increase the level of Trident warheads and listen to public opinion that wants to see reductions, rather than increases, in our nuclear weapons arsenal.”

Earlier this week, a new study by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute calculated that world military spending in 2020, despite the global impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, increased to almost $2 trillion.

In the UK, defence spending will increase by £24 billion over the next four years, at a time when foreign aid and local government budgets have been cut.