Articles 6 and 7 of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) establish a framework for responding to the harm caused to people and the environment by nuclear weapons use and testing. The TPNW requires states parties to assist individuals affected; remediate affected environments; and provide international cooperation and assistance for this work.

The ‘victim assistance’ mandated by the treaty requires a rights-based and holistic response to nuclear harm. This includes providing physical and psychological healthcare and measures for social and economic inclusion, which must be done in an “age- and gender-sensitive” way and “without discrimination”.

In a new discussion paper, ‘Gender, age, and non-discrimination in nuclear ‘victim assistance’: A baseline for TPNW implementation,’ Nidhi Singh examines how these elements are currently approached in existing national laws and programmes to assist individuals affected by nuclear weapons use and testing.

Her review finds some provisions addressing gender and age in national programmes, for example in Kazakhstan and Japan, and some approaches relevant to the principle of non-discrimination and providing a specific response to Indigenous Peoples, in laws and policies enacted by Australia and others. Nevertheless, these elements are not currently addressed comprehensively or systematically within or across current national programmes.

The more general inadequacy of current acknowledgement of and responses to nuclear harm, it should be noted, has been analysed and criticised by survivors and others, who continue to advocate for truth, justice, and better provision.

There is a clear opportunity for states to develop stronger, collective standards and practices in their implementation of the TPNW. The goal of this paper is to give a baseline of information on current approaches when it comes to age- and gender-sensitivity and non-discrimination, so that current practice – and its limitations – can be built from.

States parties to the TPNW committed at their First Meeting of States Parties in Vienna in 2022 to developing guidelines for age- and gender-sensitive victim assistance, and integrating gender perspectives in international cooperation and assistance: a review of current practice is one important starting point for this task.

Key messages:

• Victim assistance programmes and measures must be comprehensive, inclusive, and responsive to the diverse and long-lasting impacts of nuclear weapons use and testing. They must ultimately promote greater justice, support, and healing for affected individuals and communities.
• When it comes to applying age- and gender-sensitivity and non-discrimination, current national programmes vary significantly across countries, with some more progressive approaches existing alongside inconsistent application of these principles, creating gaps for many affected populations.
• The TPNW offers a framework for establishing universal standards that can help strengthen national programmes and reduce disparities between them. International cooperation and knowledge-sharing can promote good practices and help develop such standards, towards ensuring no community is left behind in pursuing justice and support.

Key recommendations:

• States parties to the TPNW should build upon practices in existing national programmes that address nuclear harm, while developing more comprehensive frameworks and approaches that centre affected communities in policy development and implementation. This should include providing resourcing for affected community groups and representatives to carry out their work according to their priorities and participate in national and international policymaking and implementation.
• Guidelines for TPNW victim assistance implementation should: uphold the principle of non-discrimination; recognise gendered impacts, needs and perspectives; and implement age-tailored approaches that acknowledge intergenerational consequences. Particular attention should be given to addressing the disproportionate impacts on Indigenous Peoples, women, persons with disabilities, older generations, and children. The meaningful inclusion of people of all genders in policy development and decision-making is also critical to developing gender-sensitive approaches.
• States parties should adopt a nuanced, comprehensive approach, recognising there is no one-size-fits-all solution and that assistance programmes must be adapted to specific cultural, social, economic, and environmental contexts, while maintaining core principles of inclusivity, accessibility, non-discrimination and transparency.

Download the paper: Gender, age, and non-discrimination in nuclear ‘victim assistance’: A baseline for TPNW implementation

Featured image: Representatives at the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in March 2025, at the United Nations in New York © International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons