Initiative for Switzerland to back nuclear weapon ban launched

The alliance also includes more than 20 organisations, including ICAN and the Group for a Switzerland without an Army (GSoA). The committee has until January 2, 2026 to collect 100,000 signatures. Keystone-SDA / Anthony Anex

The Alliance for a Nuclear Weapons Ban has launched a popular initiative for Switzerland to join the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

The treaty was negotiated and adopted by the United Nations in 2017. Switzerland played an important role in these negotiations, before deciding not to sign it in 2018. The treaty contains a comprehensive and explicit ban on nuclear weapons. This includes prohibiting the use, threat of use, manufacture, stockpiling, acquisition, possession, stationing, transmission and testing of nuclear weapons.

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It entered into force in 2021, and has been ratified by 70 states, including Ireland and Austria, but not by the nuclear powers or most European or Western allies. At the end of March, the Swiss government refused to reconsider its position, arguing that it was not in Switzerland’s interest to sign the treaty.

On Tuesday, parliamentarian Carlo Sommaruga from the Social Democratic party recalled that a motion in favour of joining the treaty was adopted by Parliament in 2018. The people must now vote to overcome the government’s refusal to implement the will of Parliament.

At a time when nuclear disarmament continues to be a priority of Swiss foreign policy, “we are calling for words to finally be followed by deeds”, added Annette Willi of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of NGOs campaigning for nuclear disarmament.

“The threat of nuclear weapons is real and has not been so great for a long time,” said Sommaruga. In this context, “the Treaty heralds a necessary and urgent paradigm shift in the field of nuclear disarmament”, he declared. “The more States that support it, the greater the pressure on the nuclear powers.”

Nuclear weapons are by their very nature contrary to the principles of international humanitarian law, said parliamentarian Marc Jost. They kill indiscriminately, do not respect the principle of proportionality, cause unnecessary suffering and violate the most fundamental human rights to life and security.

+ Swiss government declines to sign nuclear weapons treaty again

To the committee behind the initiative, not adhering to the treaty breaks with Switzerland’s tradition and undermines its credibility in terms of neutrality and humanitarian aid. Switzerland must play an active role in promoting peace and security in the long term.

The initiative to ban nuclear weapons is finding support across party lines. It is supported by former Federal Councillor Micheline Calmy-Rey, the President of the Green Party Lisa Mazzone, and Jacques Dubochet, who was awarded the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2017.

The alliance also includes more than 20 organisations, including ICAN and the Group for a Switzerland without an Army (GSoA). The committee has until January 2, 2026 to collect 100,000 signatures.

Translated from French by DeepL/jdp

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