Utopianism Alive and Well at the UN

What’s a bigger waste of time than the G20—an unwieldy global forum where world leaders can preen and strut while accomplishing next-to-nothing? How about trying to pass a global treaty outlawing nuclear weapons in the United Nations? The NYT (where else?) has the story:

For the first time in the seven-decade effort to avert a nuclear war, a global treaty has been negotiated that proponents say would, if successful, lead to the destruction of all nuclear weapons and forever prohibit their use.

Negotiators representing two-thirds of the 192-member United Nations finalized the 10-page treaty this week after months of talks. […]

 

“The world has been waiting for this legal norm for 70 years,” said Elayne G. Whyte Gómez, Costa Rica’s ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva and chairwoman of the conference, which was broadcast live on the United Nations website.

Hurray? Yeah, no:

In a joint statement released after the treaty was adopted, the United States, Britain and France said, “We do not intend to sign, ratify or ever become party to it.”

The statement said that “a purported ban on nuclear weapons that does not address the security concerns that continue to make nuclear deterrence necessary cannot result in the elimination of a single nuclear weapon and will not enhance any country’s security, nor international peace and security.”

All that is so patently obvious it really need not be said. But when faced with a treaty surpassed in its utopian foolishness only by the legendary Kellogg-Briand Pact, we suppose things need to be spelled out.

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