A Swiss anti-nuclear group that advocated for a United Nations ban on nuclear weapons this summer received the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday.
The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) “is receiving the award for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons,” the Oslo-based Norwegian Nobel Committee wrote on its website Friday.
The committee called ICAN “the leading civil society actor in the endeavour to achieve a prohibition of nuclear weapons under international law,” lauding the Geneva-based group for its promotion of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The U.N. treaty, which is strongly opposed by all nuclear-armed nations and substantially all of their allies, prohibits signatories from developing, testing, manufacturing, transfering, and use of nuclear weapons.
The Trump administration has cautioned that the treaty could have far-ranging and unforeseen implications for public and private actors in countries where national defense policies are tied even obliquely to nuclear-armed states.
Only three U.N. member states had ratified the treaty at press time Friday. The treaty would enter into force upon ratification by 50 member states.
“We are proud to have played a major role [in] its creation, including through advocacy and participation in diplomatic conferences, and we will work assiduously in coming years to ensure its full implementation,” ICAN said in a statement Friday after receiving Peace Prize. “Any nation that seeks a more peaceful world, free from the nuclear menace, will sign and ratify this crucial accord without delay.”
