The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (abbreviated to ICAN, pronounced ) is a global

civil society Civil society can be understood as the "third sector" of society, distinct from government and business, and including the family and the private sphere.Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. The campaign helped bring about this treaty. ICAN was launched in 2007. In 2022 it counted 652 partner organizations in 107 countries. The campaign received the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize "for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons."

Mission

ICAN aims to reframe the disarmament discussion to center on the humanitarian threat that nuclear weapons pose by highlighting their extraordinary capacity for destruction, their disastrous health and environmental effects, their indiscriminate targeting, the crippling effects of a nuclear detonation on medical facilities and relief efforts, and the long-lasting radiation effects on the surrounding area. The success of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, which was essential in triggering the negotiation of the anti-personnel mine ban treaty in 1997, served as inspiration for ICAN's founders. They aimed to create a comparable campaign model.

Formation

In September 2006, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, itself awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985, adopted a proposal at its biennial congress in Helsinki, Finland, to launch ICAN globally. ICAN was launched publicly at two events, the first on 23 April 2007 in Melbourne, Australia, where funds had been raised to establish the campaign, and the second on 30 April 2007 in Vienna at a meeting of State parties to the

Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, commonly known as the Non-Proliferation Treaty or NPT, is an international treaty whose objective is to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and weapons technology, to promote cooperation ...

. National campaigns have been organized in dozens of countries in every region of the world.

Membership and support

ICAN Humanitarian Pledge or nuclear arsenal world map

The ICAN is made up of 607 partner organizations in 106 countries. The campaign's staff team is located in

Geneva Geneva ( ; french: Genève ) frp, Genèva ; german: link=no, Genf ; it, Ginevra ; rm, Genevra is the second-most populous city in Switzerland (after Zürich) and the most populous city of Romandy, the French-speaking part of Switzerland. Situa ...

, Switzerland, from where it provides ongoing coordination and management of the campaign. Beatrice Fihn is the Executive Director. An International Steering Group oversees the campaign, with current members the Acronym Institute for Disarmament Diplomacy, Article 36, African Council of Religious Leaders – Religions for Peace, International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, Norwegian People's Aid, Pacific Network on Globalisation (PANG), PAX,

Peace Boat is a global non-government organization headquartered in Japan established for the purpose of raising awareness and building connections internationally among groups that work for peace, human rights, environmental protection and sustainable dev ...

, Latin America Human Security Network (SEHLAC), Swedish Physicians against Nuclear Weapons, and the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Akira Kawasaki (President), Clara Levin (Treasurer) and Rebecca Johnson (Secretary) are responsible for the Swiss-registered non-profit association of ICAN as of 2021.

Milestones

*22 January 2021: The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force. *24 October 2020: The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is ratified by the 50th state, triggering its entry into force on 22 January 2021. *6 October 2017: The Nobel Peace Prize for 2017 was awarded to the ICAN. The committee stated: "for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons" as the reason for selecting ICAN for this award. *7 July 2017: The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) is adopted at the United Nations by a vote of 122-1. The Treaty, which prohibits the development, testing, production, manufacture, acquisition, possession, stockpiling, transfer, use, and threatened use of nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, will enter into force once it has been ratified by 50 states. The ICAN calls the TPNW "a landmark international agreement that outlaws, categorically, the worst weapons of mass destruction and establishes a pathway to their elimination." *27 October 2016: UN First Committee adopts a landmark, ICAN-supported resolution to launch negotiations in 2017 on a treaty outlawing nuclear weapons. ICAN calls on all states to participate in the negotiations, stating that "every nation has an interest in ensuring that nuclear weapons are never used again, which can only be guaranteed through their complete elimination." *February–August 2016: ICAN campaigns actively at UN Open-Ended Working Group in Geneva, which recommends by a large majority of 107 participating States that the General Assembly authorize negotiations on "a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination." ICAN calls the OEWG recommendation "a breakthrough in the seven-decade-long global struggle to rid the world of the worst weapons of mass destruction." *2 November 2015: UN General Assembly establishes Open-Ended Working Group to review the evidence of catastrophic humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and to make concrete recommendations for taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament. ICAN calls on the OEWG "to begin the serious practical work of developing the elements for a treaty banning nuclear weapons." *November 2015: After mobilizing campaigners behind the Humanitarian Pledge for almost a year, ICAN takes significant credit for bringing 127 onto the Pledge as signatories; another 23 States vote in favor of Pledge goals at General Assembly. *6–7 August 2015: ICAN campaigners organize worldwide events to commemorate the 70th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. *December 2014: More than 600 ICAN campaigners gather in Vienna on the eve of the Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons. ICAN tells conference participants "a new legal instrument prohibiting nuclear weapons would constitute a long overdue implementation of the Non-Proliferation Treaty." At the conference conclusion, Austria issues historic Humanitarian Pledge to work with all stakeholders "to fill the legal gap for the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons." *26 October 2014: 155 States, an increase of 30 from the previous year, submit joint humanitarian appeal for nuclear disarmament at UN General Assembly. *1 July 2014: Beatrice Fihn is appointed ICAN Executive Director. *February 2014: Nayarit Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons attended by 146 States and more than a hundred civil society campaigners. ICAN tells participants "the claim by some states that they continue to need these weapons to deter their adversaries has been exposed by the evidence presented at this conference…as a reckless and unsanctionable gamble with our future." At conference conclusion, Mexico calls for the start of a diplomatic process to negotiate a legally binding instrument prohibiting nuclear weapons. *30 August 2013: UN working group highlights humanitarian concerns about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear detonations and the need for non-nuclear nations to push forward. *March 2013: ICAN coordinates civil society participation at historic Oslo Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, an unprecedented gathering of States to evaluate the scientific evidence about the catastrophic consequences of nuclear weapons. *5 March 2012: ICAN launches "Don't Bank on the Bomb" global divestment initiative. *26 November 2011: ICAN welcomes historic resolution adopted by the

International Red Cross and Red Crescent The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is a humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers, members and staff worldwide. It was founded to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for all human beings, an ...

movement in favor of an international agreement to prohibit nuclear weapons. *27 June 2011: P5 nations (the United States, Russia, the United Kingdom, France and China) meet in Paris to discuss ways to improve transparency in relation to their nuclear weapons. ICAN releases a video challenging them to do much more. *28 May 2010: ICAN campaigners at the NPT Review Conference in New York call on governments to support a nuclear weapons convention. While references to a convention are included in the final document, ICAN is already considering a shift in strategy toward a new treaty banning nuclear weapons in order to empower non-nuclear-weapon states to assume more effective leadership. *30 April 2007: ICAN is launched internationally during the

preparatory committee meeting in Vienna. *7 September 2006: International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, the 1985 Nobel Peace Laureate, adopts ICAN as top campaign priority at its world congress in Helsinki, Finland. IPPNW's Australian affiliate, MAPW, commits to fund-raising and providing coordination for a campaign launch in 2007.

Supporters

A number of prominent individuals have lent their support to the campaign, including

Nobel Peace Prize The Nobel Peace Prize is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Swedish industrialist, inventor and armaments (military weapons and equipment) manufacturer Alfred Nobel, along with the prizes in Chemistry, Physics, Physiolo ...

laureates

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbish ...

, the

Dalai Lama Dalai Lama (, ; ) is a title given by the Tibetan people to the foremost spiritual leader of the Gelug or "Yellow Hat" school of Tibetan Buddhism, the newest and most dominant of the four major schools of Tibetan Buddhism. The 14th and current D ...

and Jody Williams, the musician

Herbie Hancock Herbert Jeffrey Hancock (born April 12, 1940) is an American jazz pianist, keyboardist, bandleader, and composer. Hancock started his career with trumpeter Donald Byrd's group. He shortly thereafter joined the Miles Davis Quintet, where he hel ...

, the cricket journalist and former player Ian Chappell, the actors Martin Sheen and

Michael Douglas Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the AF ...

, and the artist

Yoko Ono Yoko Ono ( ; ja, 小野洋子, Ono Yōko, usually spelled in katakana ; born February 18, 1933) is a Japanese multimedia artist, singer, songwriter, and peace activist. Her work also encompasses performance art and filmmaking. Ono grew up i ...

. In November 2012, the Secretary-General of the United Nations,

Ban Ki-moon Ban Ki-moon (; ; born 13 June 1944) is a South Korean politician and diplomat who served as the eighth secretary-general of the United Nations between 2007 and 2016. Prior to his appointment as secretary-general, Ban was his country's Ministe ...

, praised ICAN and its partners "for working with such commitment and creativity in pursuit of our shared goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world". Earlier, he had provided a video message to ICAN in support of its global day of action. In 2017 ICAN was awarded the ''Golden Doves for Peace'' journalistic prize issued by the Italian Research Institute Archivio Disarmo.

2017 Nobel Peace Prize

The ICAN organization was awarded the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize, on 6 October 2017. The Nobel Peace Prize Press Statement reads: "for its work to draw attention to the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and for its ground-breaking efforts to achieve a treaty-based prohibition of such weapons ..It is the firm conviction of the Norwegian Nobel Committee that ICAN, more than anyone else, has in the past year given the efforts to achieve a world without nuclear weapons a new direction and new vigour". ''

The Economist ''The Economist'' is a British weekly newspaper printed in demitab format and published digitally. It focuses on current affairs, international business, politics, technology, and culture. Based in London, the newspaper is owned by The Eco ...

'' expressed skepticism about the effectiveness of ICAN's nuclear-ban treaty, arguing that it was unlikely to advance global peace due to its rejection by the world's nuclear powers. The Nobel Prize has brought significant attention to ICAN's core issues, and membership of affiliate groups and partners have jumped to over 450 organisation worldwide, bringing the core issues squarely into remit of international law.

Notes and references

External links

* * {{Portal bar, Nuclear technology, Society Anti–nuclear weapons movement Nuclear weapons policy Organizations awarded Nobel Peace Prizes Organizations established in 2007 Swiss Nobel laureates