Why cover the different events taking place during Nuclear Ban Week Vienna?

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and threats to use nuclear weapons have reawakened fears of nuclear war and brought the terrible consequences of the use of nuclear weapons to the forefront of public consciousness. Decades-old assumptions about security and deterrence have been upended overnight, as Russia uses its nuclear weapons not to deter but to coerce and intimidate: to facilitate aggression and provide a cover for war crimes and violations of human rights, leaving the international community powerless to intervene.

In the midst of this unprecedented crisis, the 60 states parties and 86 signatories of the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will convene their first meeting since the treaty came into legal force in January 2021. They will determine how to take forward the treaty’s mission, now more urgent and critical than ever: the total elimination of nuclear weapons worldwide. As the first intergovernmental conference on nuclear weapons since the start of the Ukraine crisis, the meeting will lead the international response to the increased risk of nuclear conflict and catastrophe. The meeting and its linked events in NuclearBanWeek – a conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, a conference of parliamentarians, and the ICAN NuclearBan Forum – will bring to Vienna a vast array of nuclear expertise from all regions of the world: policymakers, scientists, analysts, legal experts, academics, activists and survivors.

Nuclear Ban Week Vienna offers media representatives a unique opportunity to cover nuclear weapons issues from a wide range of perspectives. Below are some resources and information: