Like it or not, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force today. It is the first treaty that comprehensively prohibits nuclear weapons. Critics of the ban treaty say that the TPNW “would neither make nuclear weapons illegal nor lead to the elimination of even a single nuclear weapon”, and they are right because the nuclear weapons ban campaign had a different goal. It is a norm change campaign that makes a crucial step towards the abandonment of the old norm of nuclear deterrence and the practice it supports.

Although Switzerland voted in favor of the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), it did not join the TPNW. Joining the TPNW in the current international context could entail risks in terms of both the Swiss nonproliferation diplomacy and Switzerland's security policy interests. In April 2019, the Swiss government announced that by the end of 2020, it would review the situation around the TPNW. However, by December 27, 2020, no revision was made, which might mean that the Swiss government did not change its mind and does not want to join the Treaty. However, pressure from both houses of the Swiss parliament and NGOs and entry into force of the TPNW may influence the Swiss government's position on the issue.

In July 2017, at the meeting of the UN General Assembly, 122 countries voted in favor of the TPNW that prohibits the development, testing, production, manufacture, possession, use, or threat of use of nuclear weapons under Article I. The Treaty was established to fill in the legal gap in the nuclear nonproliferation regime, as well as to contribute to complying with Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Under Article XV of the TPNW, the Treaty “shall enter into force 90 days after the fiftieth instrument of ratification”.  The TPNW now has 50 ratifications, which means it will enter into force on January 22, 2021. What does it all mean? How will the new treaty work? Is the TPNW doing so well?