London CND Embassy Report: 99 States Join the Nuclear Ban Treaty

From September 15th, delegates from London CND visited several embassies across London, representing states that have signed but not yet ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). We wanted to raise awareness, promote, and encourage the ratification of the Treaty to commemorate the UN Day of Peace on 21st September, the theme of which for 2025 was Act Now for a Peaceful World. 

The Treaty was adopted in 2017 and came into force in January 2021. It contains a series of measures prohibiting all activities relating to nuclear weapons and aims to establish a complete global ban. It also obligates signatory states to assist and support those affected by nuclear weapons use and testing and to conduct environmental remediation of contaminated areas. Representing LRCND in campaigning for a peaceful world, delegates Daniel Britton, Christine Shawcroft, Phil Sedler, John Morris, Rosemary Addington, and Sally Spiers met with Ambassadors, High Commissioners, and embassy officials. The message this year was simple: in a world fraught with violence and warfare, constantly teetering on the brink of nuclear disaster, how can we encourage your state to move towards ratification of the treaty?

The response we received was encouraging. Meeting with the embassies of the Holy See, Mozambique, Barbados, Tanzania, and on separate dates with Algeria and Brunei, we found that, apart from the Holy See, where they had already ratified the treaty, the bureaucratic wheels were in motion towards ratification. We were reminded that many states are still scarred by the effects of nuclear weapons and weapons testing. In Algeria, for example, parts of the Sahara used by the French for nuclear testing in the 1960s were still uninhabitable. The Holy See was particularly supportive and encouraged us to carry our message to the Archbishop of Westminster. 

The delegation outside the Mozambique High Commision

Fortuitously, this year’s embassy visits also happened to coincide with Ghana’s and Kyrgyzstan’s ratification of the Treaty. We are proud to have spoken with officials in the embassy of Ghana to encourage ratification during last year’s embassy visit. The world is now at a point where 99 of 197 eligible states have ratified the Treaty. The global majority is therefore on the side of the TPNW and the path to a world without nuclear weapons.  On the UN Day of Peace, we were reminded of the urgency to act but also encouraged by the steady progress being made toward a world free of nuclear weapons.

In the weeks ahead, we plan to hold follow-up meetings with representatives from Brunei and the Archbishop of Westminster to continue building momentum toward universal ratification of the Treaty.

Want more from London CND?

Check out the new PeaceLines Podcast, where Jess Freeman speaks with CND General Secretary Sophie Bolt about the CND’s mission.

Peaceline Issue 13: The UK-US Nuclear Deal Under Fire

The October edition of London CND’s PeaceLine is here.

It features a short analysis of President Trump’s mis-named Golden Dome, with brief reports from TUC Congress and Labour Party conference, as well as a report by Mark Howell on Lambeth & South CND’s recent activities. Mark is also the focus of this month’s member spotlight.

Read the October Peaceline

Peacelines Podcast

PL also draws your attention to our recent podcast with CND Gen Sec Sophie Bolt on the latest nuclear developments. This month, PeaceLines editor Jessica Freeman is in the interviewer's seat as she and Sophie discuss Lakenheath, Trump, and CND's mission. Watch the episode below.

The podcast is also available on YouTube by clicking here

TUC Congress calls for Wages not Weapons

TUC Congress calls for Wages not Weapons

A University and College Union (UCU) motion to Congress 2025 has overturned three years of TUC support for government’s increases in military spending. London CND Chair Carol Turner reports. 

Trade unionists and peace movement activists have welcomed the decision by Congress to support Motion 37, Wages Not Weapons, which reverses TUC policy since 2022 in support of government increases in military spending. 

UCU launched a Wages Not Weapons campaign in the run-up to TUC to help win the day, including a strong social, explaining: ‘our country is in a state of ruin. Last year, we elected a Labour government to reverse this decline by putting workers first and defending our interests. Yet now, we are told there is no money left.’ The campaign included a short social media video which is well worth a watch.

Motion 37, Wages Not Weapons, reads:

Congress recognises:

i. that Britain’s public services, public goods, and core infrastructure – including education, healthcare, local government, mail, and transport – continue to suffer from chronic neglect and underinvestment

ii. this harms working people, holds back unions and compounds national decline.

Congress further recognises that:

a. rearmament is not a suitable standalone foundation for national renewal

b. moreover, there can be no meaningful national security in the absence of massive public investment to rebuild the social and economic fabric of working-class communities

c. political pressure from Trump continues to ratchet up expected levels of spending on defence, potentially climbing to 5 per cent of gross domestic product

d. in the current political context, ever-higher expenditure on arms will inevitably mean less money for our education, health, and councils, and the green transition.

Congress believes:

1. we should stand, in our best traditions, for peace and against militarisation

2. that actively campaigning for ever-higher spending on arms risks signalling approval of a wider drive to war, in the dangerous context of renewed great-power rivalry

3. that British participation in the F-35 programme implicates it in Israel’s grave violations of international law in Gaza.

Congress resolves to:

I. reverse policy, dating from 2022, of support for immediate increases in defence spending

II. prioritise campaigning for public investment in Britain’s public realm, decimated by austerity

III. commit to a safe, liveable planet

IV. reaffirm that our movement’s priority is welfare and wages, not weapons and war.

·      Still relevant

For a review of some of the issues raised at Congress 2025, check out Labour CND’s latest podcast, available on Spotify and YouTube. On the eve of Congress, Andrew Murray, former chief of Unite union, discussed military spending, Palestine, defence diversification, and the state of Britain’s trade union movement.

·      Also worth a look

Congress 2025 also passed a motion which referenced far-right riots in Britain and the rise of the far right internationally. Motion 12 put forward from TUC Women’s Conference expressed concern ‘that much of the political dialogue running up to the general election last year moved further to the right’, noting that the far right in Britain were emboldened ‘in the shape of the Reform Party’.

In response to the rise of the far right, the TUC recently launched some new resources designed to assist reps, members, and activists tackle the arguments raised, including a course for union reps and an online guide, Talking Solidarity.