The Chilean Chamber of Deputies unanimously approved the Draft Agreement ratifying the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, adopted in New York in 2017, which was approved by 122 out of 124 States of the United Nations (UN).
The draft in question contains a single article: “The ‘Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons’, adopted in New York on 7 July 2017, is hereby adopted”.
In this context, according to the report of the Foreign Affairs Committee of the Lower House, it is “a disarmament treaty, highlighting the explicit mention of the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences that the deliberate or accidental use of this type of weapon would provoke. It also enshrines dimensions such as the specific role of women in nuclear disarmament, and the need for equal participation for the promotion and achievement of sustainable peace and security”, adding that “the parties give an account of the purposes for concluding it and 20 articles in which the norms are set out”.
The Chilean MP for Acción Humanista, Tomás Hirsch, welcomed the decision, assuring that “this is an important and profound sign to advance towards a nuclear-free world, where these weapons are not manufactured, transported, tested or used. Of course, our country does not have nuclear weapons thanks to the ‘Treaty of Tlatelolco’, which was a pioneer in the world and signed by the Latin American region”.
“I am deeply glad because we have been permanently -from the Humanist point of view- promoting the signing of this treaty and the adhesion of Chile. Together with ‘World Without Wars and Without Violence’, a humanist world organisation that promotes world peace, and together with I.C.A.N. -International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons- which as an organisation won the Nobel Peace Prize. We will continue to promote all agreements that involve the demilitarisation and denuclearisation of the planet, it is a fundamental issue of Universalist Humanism,” said Hirsch.
