Joint health federations statement for the 1st meeting of States Parties of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear War (TPNW)

Joint International Health Statement
for the 1st
Meeting of States Parties
of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
Representing physicians, nurses, public health professionals, and medical students worldwide, we
speak with a united voice on the urgent need to eliminate nuclear weapons as a matter of global
health and survival. Updated evidence on the catastrophic consequences of any use of nuclear
weapons, the acute and growing danger of their use, and the impossibility of any effective
humanitarian and health response following nuclear explosions on populations, should underpin the
work of the upcoming 1st Meeting of States Parties (1MSP) of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear
Weapons (TPNW).
The TPNW is based upon a body of indisputable evidence, documented by scientists, health
professionals, and experts in crisis management and response, that the consequences of nuclear
weapons use are catastrophic, global, and without remedy. The Treaty concludes— and we concur—
that the prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons is the only responsible course of action in the
face of such consequences.
The detonation of nuclear weapons produces incinerating heat, powerful shock waves and
overpressures, ionizing radiation, an intense electromagnetic pulse, and massive amounts of smoke
and soot that can alter the Earth’s climate. Unlike conventional weapons or other weapons of mass
destruction, nuclear weapons instantaneously wipe out entire populations, level cities, and devastate
the environment. They produce radioactive contamination that remains active for millennia, causing
cancers and other illnesses that can persist across generations. Moreover, the environmental
consequences of nuclear war, including severe climate disruption, can lead to global famine and, in
the most extreme case, human extinction. No meaningful medical or disaster relief response to the
detonation of nuclear weapons is possible.
Since the adoption of the Treaty, new data about climate effects has been published documenting
the impacts from both limited and large-scale nuclear conflicts. IPPNW has submitted a briefing paper
to the 1MSP that summarizes the blast, heat, and radiation effects of nuclear weapons, as well as
the global impacts of nuclear war on climate, nutrition, and food security. This evidence should
continue to drive the process of implementing the Treaty, its prohibitions, and its positive obligations.
The world has not been this close to nuclear war since the Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962. If the conflict
in Ukraine were to escalate to the use of nuclear weapons, the consequences would almost certainly
be global and catastrophic. Diplomacy is urgently needed to remove the danger of nuclear escalation
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in the current crisis, and needs to progress to negotiations among all nuclear-armed states to
eliminate their nuclear arsenals under strict verification and timelines.
As the World Health Organisation has stated, nuclear weapons pose the greatest immediate threat
to human health and welfare. The elimination of nuclear weapons is the only way to put an end to this
preventable and intolerable threat.
As member and observer states prepare to meet in Vienna for the 1st
Meeting of States Parties, we
call for prompt and universal ratification and implementation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of
Nuclear Weapons.
Our organizations:
● International Council of Nurses (ICN) is the international federation of nursing organizations
representing national nurses’ associations in 130 countries.
● International Federation of Medical Student Associations (IFMSA) envisions a world in which medical
students unite for global health and are equipped with the knowledge, skills and values to take on health
leadership roles locally and globally. Founded in 1951, it is one of the world’s oldest and largest student-run
organizations. It represents, connects and engages a network of 1.3 million medical students from 145
national member organizations in 134 countries.
● International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War (IPPNW) is a federation of health
professional organizations in 55 countries dedicated to the eradication of nuclear weapons IPPNW received
the Nobel Peace Prize in 1985, and founded the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN),
which received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017.
● World Federation of Public Health Associations (WFPHA) is an international federation of 130
national and regional public health associations, representing 5 million public health professionals worldwide.
WFPHA is the only worldwide professional society representing and serving the broad field of public health
internationally.
● World Medical Association (WMA) is an international organization representing physicians, with 115
national member organizations and thousands of associate members worldwide.
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