Sir Nicholas Soames: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what progress has been made on the UN-mandated Open Ended Working Group to develop proposals to take forward multilateral nuclear disarmament; and if he will make a statement.

Sir Alan Duncan, Minister of State for Europe and the Americas at the Foreign & Commonwealth Office: The Open Ended Working Group on nuclear disarmament concluded in August 2016 with a report which was followed by a resolution at the UN General Assembly later that year mandating the start of negotiations on a nuclear weapons ban treaty. These negotiations concluded in July 2017 with the adoption of such a treaty. To date, fifty six states have signed the treaty, and three have deposited their instrument of ratification with the UN. We have made it clear, along with NATO allies, that we will not sign it as we do not believe it will bring us closer to a world without nuclear weapons.

| Hansard

119210