CHRCCR

From Prohibition to Implementation: Why the First TPNW Review Conference Matters

September 18, 2026

The international community is approaching an important moment in the evolving architecture of nuclear disarmament.

From 30 November to 4 December 2026, States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) will convene at United Nations Headquarters in New York for the Treaty’s First Review Conference, with South Africa serving as President of the Conference.

The meeting will be more than another event on the international disarmament calendar. It provides an opportunity to assess how a relatively young treaty is moving from the establishment of a legal prohibition towards implementation, universalization and the longer-term objective of eliminating nuclear weapons.

For the Centre for Human Rights and Climate Change Research (CHRCCR), the Review Conference also provides an important opportunity to emphasize a dimension of nuclear governance that must remain central to international debate: nuclear weapons are simultaneously questions of disarmament, international law, human rights, environmental protection, sustainable development and intergenerational justice.

Nuclear Weapons and the Human Future

Nuclear weapons possess a destructive capacity fundamentally different in scale and consequence from conventional weapons. Their effects do not end with the initial blast.

Ionizing radiation, environmental contamination, long-term health consequences and potential damage to ecosystems can persist long after a nuclear detonation. The consequences of nuclear weapons use may extend across national boundaries and generations.

A nuclear detonation affecting a populated area could result in catastrophic loss of life, destruction of infrastructure, displacement and overwhelming pressure on health and emergency-response systems. The consequences of a larger nuclear exchange could be much wider, potentially affecting environmental systems, food production and human security far beyond the territories in which nuclear weapons were actually used.

Nuclear disarmament must therefore be understood not merely as an issue of relations among nuclear-armed States. It concerns humanity’s shared environment and future.

The TPNW and a Humanitarian Approach to Nuclear Disarmament

The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons entered into force on 22 January 2021. The Treaty reflects an approach to nuclear disarmament grounded substantially in the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that would result from any use of nuclear weapons.

It prohibits States Parties from undertaking a range of nuclear-weapons-related activities and establishes obligations relevant to implementation, victim assistance and environmental remediation.

Traditional nuclear-security debates have frequently centred on deterrence, strategic stability and relations among States. The TPNW contributes another perspective by placing greater attention on people, communities, humanitarian consequences and the environment.

This does not remove difficult questions of international security. It requires those questions to be considered alongside another equally important question: What would nuclear weapons use mean for people and the planet?

Why the First Review Conference Matters

A treaty’s significance ultimately depends not simply upon its adoption but upon its implementation. The First Review Conference therefore represents an important stage in the institutional development of the TPNW.

Under Article 8 of the Treaty, Review Conferences provide States Parties with an opportunity to consider the implementation and status of the Treaty, measures relating to the verified, time-bound and irreversible elimination of nuclear-weapons programmes, and other matters consistent with the Treaty.

The first Review Conference follows three Meetings of States Parties and intersessional work established under the Treaty, including thematic working arrangements and a Scientific Advisory Group. The central question is increasingly one of moving from prohibition to effective implementation.

The Review Conference Comes at a Difficult Moment

The First Review Conference will not take place in a political vacuum. It comes amid geopolitical tensions, armed conflicts, renewed debates about nuclear deterrence and continuing concerns about nuclear risks.

It also follows the 2026 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which concluded on 22 May 2026 without agreement on a consensus substantive outcome. This illustrates the difficulties currently confronting multilateral nuclear governance.

The TPNW and NPT have distinct legal structures, memberships and approaches. Nevertheless, nuclear non-proliferation, peaceful uses of nuclear energy and progress towards nuclear disarmament form part of a broader international nuclear-governance landscape. Constructive engagement should seek areas of complementarity rather than deepen institutional polarization.

Africa Has an Important Role

The presidency of the First Review Conference by South Africa carries particular significance. Africa has an important historical relationship with nuclear disarmament through the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Pelindaba), while South Africa remains uniquely significant as a State that developed nuclear weapons and subsequently dismantled its nuclear-weapons programme.

African States therefore bring important perspectives to debates about security, development, peaceful nuclear applications and nuclear disarmament. The Review Conference provides an opportunity for African governments, researchers and civil society to contribute further to the development and implementation of the Treaty.

Environmental Protection Must Remain Part of Nuclear Governance

CHRCCR approaches nuclear questions from the intersection of international law, human rights and environmental protection. The environmental dimensions of nuclear weapons deserve greater attention within public understanding of nuclear disarmament.

Radioactive contamination can affect land, water, ecosystems, agriculture and human health. Environmental consequences can continue long after immediate humanitarian emergencies have passed. This raises questions not only about disarmament, but also about remediation, responsibility, scientific monitoring, affected communities and intergenerational justice.

The TPNW is particularly noteworthy because victim assistance and environmental remediation form part of its framework. As implementation develops, it will be important to ensure that environmental obligations are informed by credible science, meaningful participation by affected communities and appropriate consideration of human rights.

Victims and Affected Communities Must Remain Visible

International nuclear governance should not become so focused on weapons systems and strategic doctrines that the experiences of people affected by nuclear activities disappear from view.

Survivors of nuclear-weapons use and communities affected by nuclear testing have contributed substantially to global understanding of the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons. Their experiences remind us that nuclear policy ultimately has human consequences.

Meaningful implementation should therefore continue to recognize the dignity, knowledge and participation of affected people and communities. This reflects a broader principle that guides CHRCCR’s work: people affected by decisions should have meaningful opportunities to participate in the processes through which those decisions are made and implemented.

Civil Society Has an Important Role

The TPNW process has demonstrated the importance of collaboration among States, international organizations, scientists, survivors, humanitarian organizations and civil society. That participation remains important as the Treaty moves into its Review Conference stage.

For the First Review Conference, the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) is serving as the civil-society coordinator and is providing relevant non-governmental organizations with information concerning participation and registration.

Civil society can contribute through research, public education, policy analysis, stakeholder dialogue, advocacy, scientific expertise and communication of community perspectives. For organizations in Africa and other regions of the Global South, participation is particularly important because the humanitarian and environmental consequences of nuclear weapons concern all States and all peoples.

Education Must Accompany Participation

Participation is meaningful only when stakeholders have access to knowledge. Nuclear governance involves complex intersections among international law, physics, radiological protection, environmental science, security policy and diplomacy.

CHRCCR therefore considers nuclear education and capacity development an important component of meaningful civil-society engagement. The Centre seeks to promote education and coordinate relevant information that can strengthen informed civil-society participation in TPNW Meetings of States Parties, Review Conferences and related processes.

It will also follow relevant scientific, legal and policy developments, including work associated with the International Commission on Radiological Protection (ICRP) and civil-society networks such as ICAN, according to the Centre’s applicable engagement status.

Nuclear Energy and Nuclear Weapons Must Be Distinguished

A mature discussion of nuclear governance must distinguish between peaceful nuclear energy and nuclear weapons. International law has developed different but interconnected regimes dealing with nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, safeguards, safety, security, liability, radiological protection and peaceful nuclear applications.

Nuclear technologies have peaceful applications in areas including medicine, agriculture, scientific research and energy. Countries considering nuclear-energy programmes therefore require strong legal and institutional systems governing safety, safeguards, security, environmental protection, radioactive waste, emergency preparedness and public participation.

Supporting peaceful nuclear applications under appropriate legal safeguards is analytically different from addressing the humanitarian and environmental consequences of nuclear weapons. Both, however, demonstrate why effective international institutions and compliance with international nuclear law remain indispensable.

From Prohibition to Implementation

The First TPNW Review Conference should therefore be viewed as part of a longer process. Its success should not be assessed only by the number of speeches delivered or documents adopted.

More fundamental questions should be asked: Has implementation advanced? Are more States engaging with the Treaty? Are affected communities meaningfully participating? Are victim assistance and environmental remediation progressing? Is scientific evidence informing decisions? Are States and civil society strengthening public understanding? Is the Treaty contributing to the broader international objective of nuclear disarmament?

These are questions that extend beyond a single conference.

Looking Towards New York

When States Parties gather in New York from 30 November to 4 December 2026, they will be reviewing a Treaty that entered into force only five years ago. But the issue confronting them is much older.

It is ultimately the question of whether humanity can construct legal, political and institutional arrangements capable of preventing weapons of extraordinary destructive capacity from determining our common future.

The answer requires governments. It requires international institutions. It requires science. It requires international law. And it requires informed and meaningful participation by civil society and affected communities.

For CHRCCR, the First TPNW Review Conference therefore represents not only a disarmament meeting but an important opportunity to strengthen the connections among nuclear law, human rights, environmental protection, education, public participation and intergenerational justice.

The movement from prohibition to implementation must ultimately be measured by whether international law succeeds in protecting people, communities and the environment from nuclear harm.

Key Areas for Civil-Society Learning and Engagement

Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and its implementation
Humanitarian and environmental consequences of nuclear weapons
Victim assistance and environmental remediation
International nuclear law and institutions
Nuclear safety, security and safeguards
Radiological protection
Public participation and access to information
TPNW Meetings of States Parties, Review Conferences and intersessional work
African perspectives on nuclear disarmament and peaceful nuclear applications

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