New York: More than 120 countries have approved the first-ever treaty to ban nuclear weapons at a UN meeting boycotted by all nuclear-armed nations.
To loud applause and cheers, Elayne Whyte Gomez, president of the UN conference that has been negotiating the legally binding treaty, announced the results of the "historic" vote – 122 nations in favour, the Netherlands opposed, and Singapore abstaining.
![Former UK naval commander Rob Green holds his book while discussing a new treaty to ban nuclear weapons on Wednesday.](http://web.archive.org./web/20170708235315im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/6/o/j/m/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gx6mjq.png/1499447378708.jpg)
"The world has been waiting for this legal norm for 70 years," since the use of the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 at the end of World War II, Ms Whyte Gomez said.
The treaty is "the first multilateral nuclear disarmament treaty to be concluded in more than 20 years," .
It will be opened for signatures in September and come into force when 50 countries have ratified it, she said.
In December, UN member states overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling for negotiations on a treaty that would outlaw nuclear weapons, despite strong opposition from nuclear-armed nations and their allies who refused to participate in the talks.
Ms Whyte Gomez said 129 countries signed up to take part in drafting the treaty, which represents two-thirds of the 193 member states. But all nuclear states and NATO members boycotted the negotiations except for the Netherlands, which has US nuclear weapons on its territory and was urged by its parliament to send a delegation to the negotiations.
Australia took a lone stand as the only country in its neighbourhood to boycott the negotiations. Labor described the government's decision not to participate in the drafting of the treaty as "astonishing".
![Panel of experts on nuclear disarmament: From left, former UK naval commander Rob Green; Bill Kidd, co-president ...](http://web.archive.org./web/20170708235315im_/https://www.fairfaxstatic.com.au/content/dam/images/g/x/6/o/j/z/image.related.articleLeadwide.620x349.gx6mjq.png/1499446975677.jpg)
The treaty requires of all ratifying countries "never under any circumstances to develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices."
It also bans any transfer or use of nuclear weapons or nuclear explosive devices – and the threat to use such weapons.
None of the nine countries known or believed to possess nuclear weapons – the United States, Russia, Britain, China, France, India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel – is supporting the treaty.
The United States and other nuclear powers instead want to strengthen and reaffirm the nearly half-century-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, considered the cornerstone of global nonproliferation efforts.
That pact sought to prevent the spread of atomic arms beyond the five original weapons powers – the US, Russia, Britain, France and China. It requires non-nuclear signatory nations to not pursue atomic weapons in exchange for a commitment by the five powers to move toward nuclear disarmament and to guarantee non-nuclear states access to peaceful nuclear technology for producing energy.
North Korea's nuclear and ballistic missile tests, including its July 3 launch, have become a timely argument for proponents and opponents of the treaty to ban atomic weapons.
AAP
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