Former Vice-President of Egypt, 2005 Nobel Peace Prize Laureate and former Director General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
“This is an authoritative record of the negotiations and diplomacy behind the Nuclear Weapons Ban Treaty which aims to prohibit the deadliest weapons invented by humankind. Ambassador Alexander Kmentt was at the forefront of the efforts, started over ten years go, to raise awareness of the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences of these weapons.
He provides an insightful account of how a small group of countries, supported by civil society, overcame the opposition by major nuclear weapon states to the Ban Treaty and eventually triumphed in establishing what should become a jus cogens rule creating an erga omnes obligation for all States. With the danger of nuclear weapons higher today than any time since the Cuban missile crisis, this book is an essential read for the younger generation – the future leaders – as to how we can, equipped with moral conviction, reset the existing global status quo and work towards a safer and more humane world. The book is also a must read for policy makers and diplomats as we seek to sheath the nuclear sword of Damocles.”