The Draft Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (CPNW) is a groundbreaking opportunity for nuclear disarmament; however, the implementation of the CPNW will also contribute significantly to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The humanitarian framing of the draft CPNW provides the basis for the links between the Convention and the SDGs. The Preamble recognizes that the consequences of nuclear weapons “pose grave implications for […] socioeconomic development” and outlines the states parties’ commitment to contributing to “principles and the purpose of the Charter of the United Nations”.
The three Humanitarian Initiative meetings showed that the unacceptable humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons use and testing are not limited by national borders. The evidence clearly shows that any nuclear weapon explosion will have a global impact on our collective ability to pursue sustainable development.
In a new report by Erin Hunt, she shows how the CPNW will contribute to a number of SDGs and some recommended amendments to the draft CPNW could increase the links to the SDGs. The report is co-published by Pace University’s International Disarmament Institute and Mines Action Canada, supported by Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.