Snake River Alliance celebrates UN treaty

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) – Back in 2017, the United Nations negotiated a treaty which bans the use of nuclear weapons in countries that participate. Now, that treaty is officially in effect.

On Friday, Snake River Alliance members came out to Caldwell Park in Pocatello on Friday to celebrate the occasion.

"We know nuclear weapons are immoral," member Terry Kaufmann said. "We've had them for 75 years or so, but now they are illegal, and that's what we're celebrating."

The treaty is currently signed by 86 nations across the globe, with 52 of them who have ratified it. The treaty does not legally apply to the United States. However, banners outlawing the use of nuclear weapons will be hung outside nuclear plants across the country.

Kaufmann says the issue has always been a primary focus for her organization.

"The Snake River Alliance has been in Idaho as a nuclear watchdog for close to 40 years," Kaufmann said. "So, this has always been one of our areas of focus is nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons development. 

For Kaufmann, she hopes the treaty will end any threat of nuclear destruction for the foreseeable future.

"We hope that this will be a moral force for the world, and it will be a turning point and that someday we may not have to live under the veil of potential nuclear annihilation," Kaufmann said.