US and UK join boycott of UN talks to ban nuclear weapons

The US, the UK and France are among 40 countries that have boycotted United Nations talks on a worldwide nuclear weapons ban.

The US ambassador to the UN Nikki Haley says a ban is "unrealistic" because of "bad actors" who cannot be trusted, reports the BBC.

"There is nothing I want more from my family than a world with no nuclear weapons. But we have to be realistic. Is there anyone that believes that North Korea would agree to a ban on nuclear weapons?" she asked.

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"In this day and time we can't honestly say we can protect our people by allowing the bad actors to have them and those of us that are good, trying to keep peace and safety, not to have them."

At least 113 countries endorsed a plan for negotiating on a legally-binding nuclear ban, reports The Guardian.

Support for a ban treaty has been growing steadily over the years, with frustration at the ineffectiveness of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty at reducing nuclear arsenals, adds the paper. The treaty was first introduced in 1970.

The nine known nuclear states – the US, China, France, Britain, Russia, India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea – all oppose a ban treaty.

The UK ambassador to the UN Matthew Rycroft says he will not attend the talks because "we do not believe that those negotiations will lead to effective progress on global nuclear disarmament."

He argued that the best way to achieve the goal of global nuclear disarmament was through a "step-by-step approach" within existing international frameworks that "build trust and confidence."

The UN under-secretary general for disarmament Kim Won-Soo says "the need for progress on nuclear disarmament has rarely been as urgent as it is today".

Opponents of the ban say gradual disarmament is working and has made a difference.

The US has reduced its nuclear arsenal by 85 per cent under the Non-Proliferation Treaty, says Haley, and the UK has cut its nuclear forces by over 50 per cent since the height of the Cold War, according to Rycroft.

But supporters of the ban believe it could help create a new international norm of rejecting atomic arms, says The Independent.