Efforts to have a global treaty to ban nuclear weapons ratified are picking up pace.
See ya, kids. Photo: Giff Johnson
This comes after the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
The Campaign, a coalition of NGOs, organised the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons adopted in July by 122 states, including six Pacific countries, at the United Nations.
New Zealand's Ambassador on Disarmament said the prize helps give the treaty momentum as signatories seek to individually ratify it.
Dell Higgie said even without nuclear armed nations' support, the treaty can help bring change.
"It will help build a norm and stigmatise nuclear weapons. What's often said is that it will de-legitimise nuclear weapons, just in the same way that any treaty prohibits a weapon over time establishes a norm against its perceived legitimacy."
Dell Higgie said 50 states need to ratify the treaty for it to come into force.
Listen to Dateline Pacific interview with Dell Higgie