Ottawa Declaration: Canada and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
The Ottawa Declaration emerged out of the “Canada and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons” conference of international experts initiated and convened by Canadians for a Nuclear Weapons Convention (CNWC) and The Simons Foundation Canada in Ottawa on November 29-30, 2021.
The Declaration’s policy proposals include:
- a call on Canada to support the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and to join NATO allies Norway and Germany in participating as observer in the forthcoming First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW; and
- a call, first issued by the House of Commons Standing Committee on National Defence, for Canada to “take a leadership role within NATO in beginning the work necessary for achieving the NATO goal of creating the conditions for a world free of nuclear weapons.”
The conference was launched with a keynote address by Austrian diplomat Alexander Kmentt, the President-elect of the forthcoming First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW. Some 22 Experts from Europe, the United States, and Canada examined the humanitarian and legal implications of nuclear weapons use, the role of the TPNW and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in advancing nuclear disarmament and arms control, and NATO’s nuclear policies and posture.
See the link below for the text of the Ottawa Declaration and a list of endorsers which includes conference participants (indicated by an asterisk) and also CNWC supporters, all of whom are recipients of the Order of Canada. Affiliations are included for identification purposes only and do not indicate institutional endorsement.
OTTAWA DECLARATION
SELECTED RESOURCES:
"Ottawa Declaration hits sensitive nerve inside federal government"
Commentary by The Hon. Douglas Roche, O.C.,
Published by The Hill Times (subscription required)
February 14 2022
Ottawa Declaration
Published by The Hill Times
February 7, 2022
