August 2020 marked 75 years since the nuclear attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki – attacks which devastated those cities and killed or injured several hundred thousands of people. Many more suffered for years afterwards, having been exposed to the deadly radiation released into the air and water.

Since the First Assembly of the World Council of Churches (WCC) in 1948 where those gathered declared that war with atomic weapons was a ‘sin against God and a degradation of man’, the WCC has continued to call for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons.

During the course of July and August, WCC published a series of blog posts highlighting different reflections and experiences of those who are calling for an end to nuclear weapons, from Japan, the Pacific, from nuclear weapons states and those advocating at the global level.

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which was adopted by the United Nations in 2017, will create a new normative standard in international law against the possession and development of nuclear weapons, as well as against their use – but only after 50 states have ratified it. Even before entry into force the treaty is already having a strong impact, as many banks and financial institutions divest from companies which are involved in the production of nuclear weapons.

Even in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, five more states have recently recognised and responded to the urgent need to prohibit nuclear weapons – Namibia, Belize , Lesotho, Fiji and Botswana – bringing the total number of ratifications to date up to 40. (WCC)