On the 30th of January 2026, the VCDNP hosted a webinar featuring Véronique Christory, Senior Arms Advisor of the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), who shared first-hand insights about the ICRC’s role in negotiating the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). Open to students and young professionals, the event was organised as part of the Young Women and Next Generation Initiative (YWNGI), offering a unique window into the negotiating world of disarmament, arms control and humanitarian law.
VCDNP Senior Research Associate, Federica Dall’Arche, introduced Christory highlighting her extensive experience in disarmament and arms control negotiations, spanning both conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction, including the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
Christory provided an overview of the humanitarian and legal considerations that led to the adoption of the Treaty, reflecting on her role as a negotiator as well as on her current work supporting the implementation and universalisation of the TPNW.
Christory explained how her work with the ICRC has given her a unique perspective on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, including through direct engagement with Hibakusha, survivors of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. She also explored the relationship between the TPNW and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), highlighting their complementarity while arguing that the TPNW negotiations were in part driven by the perceived failure of NPT Review Conferences to fully uphold the Treaty’s disarmament commitments.
The speaker also addressed how the TPNW fits within a broader framework of human-centered security. As the last remaining category of weapons of mass destruction to be prohibited, Christory argued that nuclear weapons are fundamentally incompatible with human rights. In this sense, the speaker situated nuclear weapons alongside other categories of weapons that she has worked to prohibit, such as landmines and chemical weapons, given their indiscriminate effects and long-term humanitarian consequences. Christory also touched upon the innovative aspect of the TPNW, being among the first international treaties to explicitly incorporate gender perspectives and provisions on victim assistance.
During the question-and-answer session, Christory elaborated and provided additional details about her negotiating experience and offered reflections and guidance for the next generation of practitioners in the field.
More information about the Young Women and Next Generation Initiative can be found here.
The VCDNP thanks the European Union for supporting the YWNGI and this event.
