Editing Arms control (section)

===Since 1945===
[[File:Reagan and Gorbachev signing.jpg|thumb|right|Soviet General Secretary [[Mikhail Gorbachev|Gorbachev]] and U.S. President [[Ronald Reagan|Reagan]] signing the [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty|INF Treaty]] in 1987]]
After [[World War II]], the United Nations was set up as a body to promote and to maintain international peace and security.<ref>{{cite web |title=History of the UN |url=https://www.un.org/en/aboutun/history/ |publisher=United Nations |work=un.org |access-date=13 May 2012}}</ref> The United States proposed the [[Baruch Plan]] in 1946 as a way to impose stringent international control over the nuclear fuel cycle and thereby avert a global nuclear arms race, but the Soviet Union rejected the proposal and negotiations failed. Following President Eisenhower's 1953 [[Atoms for Peace]] speech to the UN General Assembly, the [[International Atomic Energy Agency]] was set up in 1957 to promote peaceful uses of nuclear technology and apply safeguards against the diversion of nuclear material from peaceful uses to [[nuclear weapons]].

Under the auspices of the United Nations, the [[Partial Nuclear Test Ban Treaty|Partial Test Ban Treaty]], which aimed to end nuclear weapons testing in the atmosphere, underwater and in outer-space, was established in 1963.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Magnarella|first=Paul J|title="Attempts to Reduce and Eliminate Nuclear Weapons through the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Creation of Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones."|publisher=PEACE & CHANGE|year=2008|pages=514|language=English}}</ref> The 1968 [[Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty]] (NPT) was signed to prevent further spread of nuclear weapons technology to countries outside the five that already possessed them: the United States, the [[Soviet Union]], the United Kingdom, France and China.<ref>Council on Foreign Relations: Global Governance Monitor on Nonproliferation, available at http://www.cfr.org/publication/18985/</ref> With the three main goals of establishing nonproliferation with inspections, nuclear arms reduction, and the right to use nuclear energy peacefully, this treaty initially met some reluctance from countries developing their own nuclear programs such as Brazil, Argentina and South Africa.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Magnarella|first=Paul J|title="Attempts to Reduce and Eliminate Nuclear Weapons through the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the Creation of Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones."|publisher=PEACE & CHANGE|year=2008|pages=509|language=English}}</ref> Still, all countries with the exception of India, Israel, Pakistan and South Sudan decided to sign or ratify the document.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gillis|first=Melissa|title="Disarmament: a Basic Guide, Fourth Edition."|publisher=United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs|year=2017|location=New York|pages=|language=English}}</ref><ref>[https://treaties.unoda.org/t/npt Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons] United Nations Office of Disarmament Affairs.</ref>

The [[Strategic Arms Limitation Talks]] (SALT) between the United States and Soviet Union in the late 1960s/early 1970s led to further weapons control agreements. The SALT I talks led to the [[Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty]] and an ''Interim Strategic Arms Limitation Agreement'' (see [[SALT I]]), both in 1972. The [[SALT II]] talks started in 1972 leading to agreement in 1979. Due to the Soviet Union's invasion of [[Afghanistan]] the United States never ratified the treaty, but the agreement was honoured by both sides.

The [[Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty]] was signed between the United States and Soviet Union in 1987 and ratified in 1988, leading to an agreement to destroy all [[missile]]s with ranges from 500 to 5,500 kilometers.<ref>{{cite web |title=Seiitsu Tachibana, "Much ado about something : The factors that induced Reagan and Gorbachev to conclude the INF Treaty" |url=http://ir.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/metadb/up/kiyo/hps/11/hps_11_151.pdf |work=Hiroshima Peace Science, Vol.11 |publisher=Nagasaki Institute of Applied Science |access-date=17 May 2012 |author=Seiitsu Tachibana |page=Hirospage.151–182 |year=1998 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120305100459/http://ir.lib.hiroshima-u.ac.jp/metadb/up/kiyo/hps/11/hps_11_151.pdf |archive-date=5 March 2012 }}</ref>  This came in the context of a revitalised peace movement during the previous decade which included huge demonstrations around the world for nuclear disarmament.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Kearns |first=Barbara |date=2021-05-05 |title=Stepping Out For Peace: A History of CANE and PND (WA) |url=https://commonslibrary.org/stepping-out-for-peace-a-history-of-cane-and-pnd-wa/ |access-date=2023-03-03 |website=The Commons Social Change Library |language=en-AU}}</ref>

The 1993 [[Chemical Weapons Convention]] was signed banning the manufacture and use of [[chemical weapons]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Articles of the Chemical Weapons Convention |url=http://www.opcw.org/chemical-weapons-convention/articles/ |work=Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons |publisher=OPCW |access-date=17 May 2012}}</ref>

The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaties were signed, as [[START I]] and [[START II]], by the US and Soviet Union, further restricting weapons.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nuclear Treaty: A Guide to Disarmament |url=https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/start-nuclear-weapons-treaty-guide-disarmament/story?id=12469644 |work=ABC News |publisher=ABC News Internet Ventures. Yahoo! – ABC News Network |access-date=17 May 2012 |author=KIRIT RADIA |format=News article |date=24 December 2010}}</ref>  This was further moved on by the [[SORT|Treaty on Strategic Offensive Reductions]], which was in turn superseded by [[New START|the New START Treaty]].

[[File:Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.svg|thumb|UN vote on adoption of the [[Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons]] on 7 July 2017<br />{{Leftlegend|#008cff|Yes}}]]
The [[Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty]] was signed in 1996 banning all nuclear explosions in all environments, for military or civilian purposes, but it has not entered into force due to the non-ratification of eight specific states.<ref>{{cite web |title=Nuclear Testing Is an Acceptable Risk for Arms Control |url=http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=nuclear-testing-is-an-acceptable-risk |work=Scientific American |access-date=13 May 2012 |format=Article |date=2 March 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=What is the CTBT? |url=http://www.ctbto.org/specials/who-we-are/?Fsize=xhczayqbmdyc |work=Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Organization (CTBTO) |publisher=Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Organization (CTBTO) |access-date=13 May 2012}}</ref>

In 1998 the United Nations founded the [[United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs]] (UNODA). Its goal is to promote [[nuclear disarmament]] and non-proliferation and the strengthening of the disarmament regimes in respect to other weapons of mass destruction, chemical and biological weapons. It also promotes disarmament efforts in the area of conventional weapons, especially landmines and small arms, which are often the weapons of choice in contemporary conflicts.{{citation needed|date=December 2014}}

In addition to treaties focused primarily on stopping the proliferation of nuclear weapons, there has been a recent movement to regulate the sale and trading of conventional weapons. As of December 2014, the United Nations is preparing for entry into force of the [[Arms Trade Treaty]], which has been ratified by 89 nations.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://treaties.un.org/Pages/ViewDetails.aspx?src=TREATY&mtdsg_no=XXVI-8&chapter=26&clang=_en|title=Arms Trade Treaty|website=United Nations Treaty Collection|access-date=7 October 2016}}</ref> However, it is currently missing ratification by key arms producers such as Russia and China, and while the United States has signed the treaty it has not yet ratified it.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Arms Trade Treaty|url=http://disarmament.un.org/treaties/t/att|website=UNODA|publisher=the United Nations|access-date=10 December 2014}}</ref> The Treaty regulates the international trade in almost all categories of conventional weapons – from small arms to battle tanks, combat aircraft and warships. Ammunition, as well as parts and components, are also covered.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gillis|first=Melissa|title="Disarmament: a Basic Guide, Fourth Edition."|publisher=United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs|year=2017|location=New York|language=English}}</ref>

More recently, the United Nations announced the adoption of the [[Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons]] in 2020, following the 50th ratification or accession by member states.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Gillis|first=Melissa|title="Disarmament: a Basic Guide, Fourth Edition."|publisher=United Nations Office for Disarmament Affair|year=2017|location=New York|language=English}}</ref>