8. Economic aspects of a nuclear weapons ban

On August 19, 2016, the UN Open Ended Working Group on Taking Forward Multilateral Nuclear Disarmament Negotiations, which was established by the UN General Assembly, adopted a recommendation that the UN General Assembly hold a conference in 2017 to negotiate a legally-binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination. Given the majority support for this recommendation, such negotiations will likely commence in 2017.

The nuclear ban treaty to be adopted will most likely include prohibitions on financing of nuclear weapons. States that sign and ratify the treaty will therefore be required to implement such prohibitions in national policy and/or legislation.

International treaties banning other inhumane weapons or weapons of mass destruction (biological weapons, chemical weapons, landmines and cluster munitions) do not specifically prohibit investments in corporations making these weapons. However, they do prohibit activities which “assist, encourage or induce anyone to engage in any activity prohibited” under those treaties. A number of governments, encouraged by civil society, have therefore included in their implementing legislation for these treaties a prohibition on investment of public funds in corporations making such weapons. This is especially true of the landmines and cluster munitions treaties which were the ones most recently adopted.

Indeed, some countries prohibited such investments in separate legislation prior to the adoption of the treaties. Such prohibitions have helped build the norm against investments and ensured this issue was part of the treaty negotiation.

With regard to nuclear weapons, some countries have already adopted various prohibitions on investments in nuclear weapons corporations (see chapter 6 above). These could be strengthened to apply to all investments, not only those of public funds. And other countries could be encouraged to adopt similar prohibitions as the negotiations for a nuclear prohibition treaty commence.

The 2017 negotiations are likely to only attract non-nuclear States. There is considerable support for additional multilateral negotiations that would include nuclear-armed, nuclear allied and non-nuclear States. A Model Nuclear Weapons Convention, circulated by the UN Secretary-General as a guide for such negotiations, suggests even more comprehensive prohibitions on financing nuclear weapons. In addition to prohibiting all investments in nuclear weapons production, the Model NWC includes a prohibition on financing nuclear weapons research, other than research required for nuclear disarmament.

The Model NWC also includes a clause on economic support for disarmament – a clause that could help reduce the opposition of nuclear weapons corporations to the treaty. The clause provides a voluntary fund for nuclear disarmament tasks, the work for which could be undertaken by some of the same corporations that are currently involved in the nuclear weapons industry.