Reflection on KNOW NUKES TOKYO’s Event, Mock Meeting of State Parties for TPNW

Reflection on KNOW NUKES TOKYO’s Event, Mock Meeting of State Parties for TPNW

By Akemi Terukina 

On March 20, KNOW NUKES TOKYO organized a Mock Meeting of State Parties for TPNW in collaboration with Peace Boat. At the meeting, around 40 high school and university students from Japan served as delegates of state parties (Mexico, South Africa, Cambodia, Ireland, Malaysia, New Zealand, Kazakhstan), observers (Germany, Australia, South Korea), and civil society organizations (ICAN, ICRC). I participated as a delegate of New Zealand. Delegates of the US, UK, and China did not participate in the MSP, and they shared their views at a side event. The MSP lasted about 7 hours, and participating states and organizations conducted negotiations on two topics, positive obligation, and universalization.

One of the issues that were brought up at the meeting was the definition of Hibakusha or those “who are affected by the use or testing of nuclear weapons” in Article 6 of the TPNW. Delegates pointed out that some victims are not in the country in which the nuclear use or testing took place. For example, delegates of South Korea and ICRC argued that more attention should be paid to victims of Hiroshima and Nagasaki bombings residing in South Korea and other countries outside of Japan. The final document emphasized the importance of bilateral and multilateral cooperation for victim assistance, especially because victims are spread around the world. The final document also suggested including those who were affected by Uranium mining or nuclear plant accidents, but it is questionable if state parties are actually willing to expand the definitions of victims to this extent. 

Serving as a delegate of New Zealand changed my perspective on regional security and the prohibition of nuclear weapons. Because I study international relations in the context of Japan and the US, I was familiar with the logic that not having nuclear weapons threatens the country’s security. However, for countries that are already part of a Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, TPNW can reinforce negative security assurance. It taught me that the TPNW is not only a tool to establish a norm of nuclear weapon prohibition. For some countries, TPNW can also be a tool to enhance regional security.

The Mock Meeting of State Parties revealed that a lot of work must be done toward the implementation of the TPNW. We must figure out questions such as how to provide assistance to victims of nuclear weapons, how to increase the state parties and universalize the prohibition of nuclear weapons, and how to institutionalize the process of the total elimination of nuclear weapons. I deeply appreciate KNOW NUKES TOKYO, who provided the opportunity for young people in Japan to learn more about the TPNW and to create a network of youth toward nuclear abolition.