Foreign Minister Gerry Brownlee announced today New Zealand will sign the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons at a ceremony during the United Nations General Assembly in New York this week.

New Zealand will sign the Treaty on the first day it is open for signature, September 20.

“Our signing at this first opportunity is consistent with New Zealand’s long-standing commitment to international nuclear disarmament efforts”, Mr Brownlee says.

“While no state currently in possession of nuclear weapons will be signing along with us, this Treaty nevertheless represents an important step towards a nuclear-free world.

“It establishes the first global prohibition on nuclear weapons and provides the international legal framework for a world without these weapons,” Mr Brownlee says.

New Zealand joined over 120 other states in supporting the adoption of the treaty at a United Nations conference in July this year.

The Treaty will enter into force once 50 states have ratified it.

| A Beehive release  ||  September 18, 2017   |||