The most lethal weapons on earth are nuclear ones. It is possible to completely destroy a city, which might result in the death of millions of people and endanger the environment and the lives of future generations due to its long-lasting devastating effects. These weapons’ very existence makes them dangerous. There are reportedly still 13,080 nuclear weapons in existence today, despite the fact that they have only ever been used in combat twice, and there have already been more than 2,000 nuclear tests. The best defense against such threats is disarmament, but achieving this objective has proven to be a very challenging task.

Since its founding, the UN has worked to ban these weapons. In 1946, the UN General Assembly’s first resolution created a Commission to address issues related to, among other things, the discovery of atomic energy. The Commission was tasked with coming up with recommendations, among other things, on how to regulate atomic energy in order to ensure that it is solely used for peaceful purposes.

Since then, a number of multilateral agreements have been made with the objective of halting nuclear testing and proliferation while advancing nuclear disarmament; including The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) signed in 1996, banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, Outer Space, and Under Water  but has not yet entered into force, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).