Duterte hails ratification of treaty banning nuclear weapons as ‘milestone’

MANILA, Philippines — President Rodrigo Duterte lauded the Senate for concurring in the ratification of a treaty that bans the development and use of nuclear weapons, saying it is a “milestone” in pursuing peace.

The ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) reinforces the Philippines’ “resolve together with the international community in pursuing a world free of nuclear weapons for peace, security, and the survival of all humanity,” Duterte said as quoted in a Palace statement.

Duterte also said that it also builds on the Philippines’ “principled commitment to work towards the complete elimination of weapons of mass destruction.”

The TPNW is the “first globally applicable multilateral agreement to comprehensively prohibit nuclear weapons based on international humanitarian law,” Senator Koko Pimentel, chair of Senate committee on foreign relations, said.

READ: Senate concurs in ratification of treaty banning nuclear weapons

The treaty prohibits state parties from “developing, testing, producing, manufacturing, transferring, possessing, stockpiling, using or threatening to use nuclear weapons; assisting, encouraging or inducing anyone to engage in said activities; and allowing nuclear weapons to be stationed, installed or deployed in their respective territories.”

Eighty-six countries have signed the accord, with at least 50 states ratifying it.

Since developing states’ growth rides on the back of a secure and stable environment, Duterte stressed that it is in the interest of developing and developed countries alike to reduce if not eliminate nuclear risks and threats.

The President further emphasized that “nuclear proliferation is a real threat to global security, adding that nuclear deterrence does not guarantee international peace and security.”

During Duterte’s first-ever speech before the United Nations General Assembly, he announced that he had asked the Senate to ratify the nuclear ban treaty.

READ: PH will ratify UN nuclear ban treaty, Duterte tells General Assembly

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