I see this as the first breakthrough in a long time. The initiative was taken by Norway, Mexico and Austria, this being the third such conference. 157 countries attended, including for the first time the UK and US.
The Red Cross and Red Crescent are partners and have declared that no international humanitarian response is feasible in the event of a nuclear weapons explosion and therefore all nuclear weapons should be banned. There is growing momentum for a ban and with so many countries on board there must be some hope. Unlike the Non Proliferation Treaty, the nuclear weapons states would have no veto over a new treaty.