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*Why is it important to make a treaty?

Why is it important to make a treaty?

 At the start of UWBAN, we got an advice about the meaning of realizing a treaty and the course of action to take from Osamu NIIKURA (executive member of the International Association of Democratic Lawyers and exsecretary general of the Japanese Lawyers International Solidarity Association), Akira MAEDA (co-representative of both ICTA and ICTI;　International Tribunal for IRAQ, besides representing us, UWBAN whose profession is criminal laws, and Niloufer Bhagwat (professor of University of Mumbai, India, Vice President, Indian Association of Lawyers, co-representative of UWBAN).

 Taking their advice into account, we stand on the following principles to make an international treaty banning uranium weapons;

 1) In effect, current international humanitarian laws ban the use of the weapons with indiscriminate and inhumane effects, like uranium weapons. But because the prevention of their use is not specified in there laws, U.S. army and its allies still use them claiming that they are harmless and that these laws should not be applied to them. This is why it is important to codify their prevention, which could deter their possible use and stop further damages.

 2) There is an opposing opinion that a new treaty is not necessary because existing international humanitarian laws should be applied to regulate the use of uranium weapons. While demanding the realization of a new treaty, we also stress on the fact that this kind of weapons are already prohibited under the laws. So we think that both sides can reach an agreement by making reference in a preamble of the treaty to their illegality under current international laws. On the basis of the principle of the existing laws, we claim the illegality of uranium weapons, but we also insist on the necessity to specify it in the new treaty.

 3) The current international laws prohibit the use of uranium weapons, but a new treaty is necessary to prohibit their production, stockpiling, testing, and transmitting, and to oblige uranium weapon holders to destroy them.