The United Nations has passed the first ever treaty which imposes a worldwide nuclear weapons ban and the decision couldn’t be more timely.

In a press briefing the U.N. conference president Elayne Whyte Gomez said:

“We are on the verge of adopting the treaty on the prohibition of nuclear weapons. This will be a historic moment and it will be the first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty to be concluded in more than 20 years,” Gomez added. “The world has been waiting for this legal norm for 70 years.”

The U.N. recently reopened discussions of a global nuclear ban after more than 2,500 scientists from 70 countries signed a petition for total nuclear disarmament:

“I am confident the final draft has captured the aspirations of the overwhelming majority of those participating in the conference, including civil society,” Gomez said, referring to the final review of the draft last Wednesday. After Friday’s vote to formally adopt it, the draft is now a 10-page document called the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

More than 120 countries are ready to adopt the treaty despite a boycott from the United States, Russia, Britain, France, China, India, Pakistan, and North Korea. These countries have proposed strengthening the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, now 50 years old, which gives rights to the five original nuclear powers (the U.S., Russia, Britain, France and China) to keep their arsenal.

The voting results, however, seemed to be more encouraging: 122 member states voted in favor of negotiating “a legally-binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons. The U.S., Britain, and France released a joint statement after the treaty had been adopted stating:

“We don’t intend to sign, ratify or ever become party to it. A purported ban on nuclear weapons which does not address the security concerns continuing to make nuclear deterrence necessary cannot result in the elimination of a single nuclear weapon and will not enhance any country’s security, nor international peace and security.”

Could the U.N.’s historic treaty be a wasted effort? The executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons Beatrice Fihn said:

“If the world comes together in support of a nuclear ban, then nuclear weapons countries will likely follow suit, even if it doesn’t happen right away.”

For more information on the subject, check out the video below:

To watch the original video of Elynd Whyte Gomez, check out the video below:

As a reminder of the terrible effects of a nuclear bomb explosion, watch bomb tests HD 2017 below:

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