The Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which established a blanket prohibition on nuclear weapons in international law, went into effect on January 22, 2021. Since then, volunteers from Peace Action NYS, Manhattan Project for a Nuclear-Free World, and other groups in the New York region commemorate the treaty’s entry into force by delivering roses and thank-you notes to the missions of the state parties that ratified it every January.
To express our gratitude for their bravery in ratifying the treaty despite strong pressure from
nuclear-armed states to do otherwise, the thank-you cards depict fully blossomed roses. On the other hand, we also send a message to the United States asking it to stop developing or moder-
nizing any more nuclear weapons with a graphic of immature rose buds. The atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were commemorated on the 78th anniversary in August of 2023. We are sending your government a letter with the same design, requesting that you not join a nuclear
alliance of nuclear-armed states.
Illustration and design by Tony Sahara
