World's first nuclear weapons ban goes into effect
The United Nations’ Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons went into effect on January 22, making nuclear weapons illegal under international law for the first time.
More than 80 nations have signed the treaty, which prohibits countries from producing and possessing nuclear weapons and from allowing them to be stationed within their borders. Notably absent among the signatories, however, are the nine nations believed to have nuclear weapons: the United States, China, France, Great Britain, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, and Russia.