Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons - (2022)

Overview

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) entered into force on 22 January 2021. Article 8, paragraph 2, of the Treaty specifies that "the first meeting of States Parties shall be convened by the Secretary- General of the United Nations within one year of the entry into force of this Treaty."

Originally scheduled to be held in January 2022, States Parties subsequently decided to hold the Meeting from 21 to 23 June 2022 at the Austria Center Vienna. On 4 April 2022, the Secretary-General of the United Nations circulated a note verbale convening the Meeting of States Parties and inviting States not party to the TPNW to attend the Meeting as observers (available in English, Français & Español).

Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General - on the conclusion of the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (27 June 2022)

Officers

Alexander Kmentt is the Director of the Disarmament, Arms Control and Non-Proliferation Department of the Austrian Foreign Ministry and President of the June 2022 First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

From 2016-19, Alexander Kmentt served as Ambassador and Permanent Representative to the Political and Security Committee of the EU. He has worked extensively on disarmament issues, including at the Conference on Disarmament and in the CTBTO in Vienna. He is one of the architects of the initiative on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). He was responsible for the 2014 Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons for which he conceived the Humanitarian Pledge. This Pledge garnered the support of 135 States and paved the way for the 2017 TPNWs.

During a sabbatical in 2019-20 as Senior Research Fellow at King’s College London, he wrote the book The Treaty Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons: How it was achieved and why it matters (Routledge 2020). He was elected “Arms Control Person of the Year 2014” by the US-based Arms Control Association. Alexander Kmentt holds an Austrian Law Degree and an MPhil in International Relations from Cambridge University (UK).

Information for Participants

Information for representatives of States and international organizations

The revised information note for States parties, observer States and intergovernmental organizations (TPNW/MSP/2022/INF/1/Rev.1) has been issued. Delegates are requested to review the information contained therein in detail. The attention of delegations is particularly drawn to revisions in sections II, III, V, VI and VIII and IX, as well as the new section VII.

All members of delegations to the Meeting of States Parties, irrespective of whether they are already in possession of a grounds pass to the United Nations Office in Vienna, are requested to register using the form available at https://forms.office.com/r/FeLZA8yuPq no later than 14 June 2022. All delegates will receive a special conference pass, which will allow them entry to the Meeting of States Parties. Registrations can only be processed for members of delegations who are included either on their delegation’s list of participants or on the list of credentials (see sects. IV and V above).

Delegates will receive an email confirming their registration within 1–2 days of submitting the online form. They will subsequently receive a second email containing a link that will enable each participant to upload a photograph, which is needed to issue a pre-printed conference pass and which will therefore shorten the time needed to issue an access pass on the day of registration.

Identification passes will be issued at Gate One of the Vienna International Centre. Delegates who have uploaded their picture in advance will be able to collect their pass from the area marked “Pre-printed conference passes”. Delegates who have not uploaded their picture in advance will be able to collect their pass from the Pass Office. Both places are located to the right after the entrance to Gate One. Delegates will be able to collect their passes on 20 June from 1.00pm a.m. to 3.30 p.m. Passes can continue to be collected until the end of the Meeting of States Parties on 23 June. The Pass Office will be open from 8 a.m. to 3.30 p.m. from Monday to Friday. Participants will need their passport to collect their pass.

Information for civil society

A revised information note for participation by non-governmental organizations (TPNW/MSP/2022/INF/2/Rev.1) is now available. Prospective participants are encouraged to review the note in full and, in particular, to take note of the following dealines:

Checklist for representatives of non-governmental organizations	Deadline
Notification by email from the secretariat to representatives informing them of the status of their request	30 May 2022
Request for representative registration	14 June 2022

Side events in the NGO room (2.91)

21 June	Voices of Civil Society for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World, featuring hibakusha, local government leaders and international youth Organized by Mayors for Peace and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)
22 June	Addressing harm from nuclear weapons’ legacies: new opportunities in the TPNW Organized by Article 36 and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN)
23 June	Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor: tracking progress towards a world without nuclear weapons Organized by Norwegian People’s Aid (NPA)

Further information about civil society and the TPNW is available on the website of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which serves as the civil society focal point for the first Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW. ICAN also maintains a mailing list for civil society representatives wishing to receive information about participation, registration and other matters related to the Meeting of States Parties.

The focal point can also be contacted directly:

Ms. Christina Hawley
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
tpnw-1msp@icanw.org
+41 22 788 20 63

Information for the Media

Press release

Media advisory - press briefing by the President-designate (21 June 2022)

Media advisory - press briefing by the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs (22 June 2022)

Statement attributable to the Spokesperson for the Secretary-General - on the conclusion of the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (27 June 2022)

General Information

Please see the media advisory for detailed information on media accreditation and access.

Media access: Media representatives wishing to cover the Meeting are advised to apply for accreditation in advance through the United Nations Information Service in Vienna. Please send a letter of assignment and a copy of your press card to press.vienna@un.org.

Criteria for media accreditation and information on the required documents are available on the UNIS website. Facilities for the media including a media centre will be available at the Meeting.

For more information about the Treaty, see the Office for Disarmament Affairs website

For more information about the First Meeting of States Parties, see the Conference Website

For accreditation, see the Media Accreditation to the Vienna International Center website.

Media Contact:
Ms. Suzanne Oosterwijk, Political Affairs Officer
Information and Outreach Branch
UN Office for Disarmament Affairs
E-mail: suzanne.oosterwijk@un.org

Side Events

Please find below a calendar of side events during the Meeting of States Parties:

	Hall D	Room 2.32-33
21 June	Addressing victim assistance, environmental remediation and international cooperation in accordance with Articles 6&7 of the TPNW Organized by Kazakhstan and Kiribati	The interests of humanity: The role of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement in the implementation of the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons Organized by the International Committee of the Red Cross
22 June	From principle to practice: the TPNW and Gender-Responsive Disarmament Organized by Ireland with UNIDIR, UNODA and WILPF	Disarmament verification in the TPNW Organized by New Zealand with UNIDIR
23 June	The Pacific Bure Organized by Kiribati with NAPF, RTT Pacific, MEI, MISA, PCC, Y Disarm Pacific, PIANGO, ICAN Australia and USP Human Rights Alumni	Public Health and the Duty to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Organized by Costa Rica with IPPNW

Exhibits

All exhibits to be displayed in Foyer "D" of the Austria Center Vienna.

Mayors for Peace Atomic Bomb Poster Exhibition: A message from 1945 to the future

Featuring photos and drawings created by hibakusha, this exhibition visually presents immediate and everlasting effects of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Organized by Mayors for Peace.

Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace

Introduction of Hiroshima Initiative which is the Global Call to Action to End Nuclear Weapons and Hiroshima Report 2022 which studies, analyzes and evaluates 36 countries’ performance on nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and nuclear security in 2021, presented by Hiroshima Prefecture and Hiroshima Organization for Global Peace (HOPe).

Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan to the International Organizations in Vienna

For more than four decades, starting from 1949, part of Kazakh land was used by the Soviet Union to test its nuclear weapons. Up to 1.5 million of our people were exposed to the nuclear fallout from the 456 explosions detonated at the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, acknowledged as the second largest in the world.

With the relentless and unfailing support of our citizens, who protested the reckless use of their native soil that was also affecting their health and lives, the First President Nursultan Nazarbayev decided on behalf of Kazakhstan to close the test site. This historic step was taken 30 years ago on 29 August 1991. Later, Kazakhstan also voluntarily gave up the world’s fourth most potent nuclear arsenal.

In recognition of Kazakhstan’s historic decision, the UN General Assembly proclaimed the 29th of August as the International Day against Nuclear Tests.

Last year the TPNW entering into force coincided with the 30th anniversary of the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site, which we found very symbolic.

In this regard, these days of the Conference the Permanent Mission of Kazakhstan would like to present an exhibition dedicated to the closure of the Semipalatinsk nuclear test site. Prohibition of nuclear testing and nuclear weapons is the only right choice on the way to peace and stability. Kazakhstan is a prime example of this.

On the Morning You Wake (to the End of the World)

You can experience the virtual reality documentary, On the Morning You Wake (to the End of the World) during the Meeting of State Parties on June 21st-23rd from 11a-3pCEST in the Austria Vienna Center.

Screenings are free and open to attendees. Space is limited.

In order to avoid long wait times, please reserve a time slot for you and your party via the booking link below. Walk-ins are welcomed, but we cannot guarantee viewing.

The reservation will take 30 minutes and include the virtual reality documentary screening, as well as onboarding and after care activities.

Glasses can be worn during the virtual reality screening.

On the Morning You Wake (to the End of the World) is a virtual reality documentary that immerses the audience in the first-hand experience of citizens in Hawai’i , who for thirty-eight minutes experienced a false ballistic missile alert, to make clear the fundamental injustice of a world where nuclear weapons exist.

Book Your Time Here