[6] On 22 October of the same year, Benno Laggner, the Head of the Task Force on Nuclear Disarmament and Non-Proliferation of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, delivered a very similar version of the statement to the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
[13] On 4 and 5 March 2013, the first-ever Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons was hosted by NATO-member Norway, attended by 127 states.
[14] At the conference, scientists presented new findings on the impact of nuclear weapons on humans, cities, the environment and global climate.
In addition to the topics of the Oslo meeting, the conference also discussed the risk of accidental detonations, or the use of nuclear weapons by miscalculation.
In the Chair's summary of the meeting, the Mexican Government noted that:[18]«The effects of a nuclear weapon detonation are not constrained by national borders − it is therefore an issue of deep concern shared by all.
(...) It is a fact that no State or international organization has the capacity to address or provide the short and long term humanitarian assistance and protection needed in case of a nuclear weapon explosion.
In our view, this is consistent with our obligations under international law, including those derived from the NPT as well as from Common Article 1 to the Geneva Conventions.
(...) The broad-based and comprehensive discussions on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons should lead to the commitment of States and civil society to reach new international standards and norms, through a legally binding instrument.
It is the view of the Chair that the Nayarit Conference has shown that time has come to initiate a diplomatic process conducive to this goal (...) making the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons the essence of disarmament efforts.
Nayarit is a point of no return.»The Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons was hosted by the Austrian Government on 8–9 December 2014.
[32] Author Eric Schlosser, in his 2013 book "Command and Control," described accidents involving nuclear weapons and argued that the number and severity was greater than officially acknowledged.
[38] Kishida later announced Japan's decision to sign the next iteration of the statement,[39] after public pressure by NGOs and the mayor of Nagasaki increased.
[43] The Australian government drew heavy criticism for its diplomatic attempts to undermine the New Zealand-led humanitarian initiative statements, and the possibility of a treaty banning nuclear weapons in the near term.
[44] Austrian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sebastian Kurz delivered the statement of the Humanitarian Initiative at the 2015 Review Conference on the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, on 28 April 2015, speaking on behalf of 159 states.
[45] The following 159 states have signed on to the statement: Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Cambodia, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus, DR Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Holy See, Honduras, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao PDR, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Macedonia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Federated States of Micronesia, Republic of Moldova, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Norway, Oman, Palau, State of Palestine, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, São Tomé and Príncipe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, South Sudan, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.