Declaring nuclear weapons illegal
Browne asked whether Ireland would follow Japan in declaring nuclear weapons illegal. Lenihan said Japan had not done so and restated Ireland’s commitment not to acquire or manufacture nuclear weapons under the non-proliferation treaty.
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs if the Government will follow the precedent set by Japan by declaring all nuclear weapons to be illegal.
Comment on this
So far as I am aware, Japan has not declared nuclear weapons as such to be illegal. However Japan, like Ireland, has by its own decision committed itself not to manufacture or acquire nuclear weapons.
We consider that nuclear weapons pose a grave danger to humanity. Ireland was one of the first countries to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons when it was opened for signature on 1 July 1968. Under this treaty we have agreed not to receive nuclear weapons or to manufacture or otherwise acquire them and we fully adhere to the provisions of the treaty. I may add, as the Deputy is no doubt aware, that the treaty could be attributed in large part to an initiative taken at the United Nations by the then Minister for External Affairs, Mr. Frank Aiken, in 1958.