UN Secretary-General António Guterres has warned that humanity is facing its most dangerous nuclear moment since the end of the Cold War.
Guterres sounded the alarm on Tuesday at the UN General Assembly’s plenary meeting commemorating the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
“We meet at the most dangerous nuclear moment since the end of the Cold War,” the UN chief told world leaders in New York.
He warned that 81 years after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons continued to cast an increasingly dark shadow over humanity.
“And that shadow is darkening. Nuclear arsenals are being expanded and modernised,” Guterres said.
“The rattling of nuclear sabres is growing louder. Advances in technology are increasing the odds of mistake and miscalculation,” he warned.
According to the Secretary-General, safeguards painstakingly built over decades to contain nuclear dangers are collapsing precisely when the international community needs them most.
Guterres particularly lamented the expiration of the New START Treaty, which had placed limits on strategic nuclear arsenals of the United States and Russia.
He warned that the development undermined not only the security of nuclear-weapon States but that of the entire international community.
The UN chief also expressed concern over continuing difficulties confronting the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation architecture.
He cited the failure of efforts under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty framework to produce substantive consensus on advancing nuclear disarmament.
“The lights are flashing red,” he warned, urging world leaders to reverse the deterioration of international nuclear arms control.
He stressed that nuclear weapons could not provide lasting security in a world where their very existence threatened catastrophic consequences for humanity.
Guterres further urged countries possessing nuclear weapons to uphold existing moratoriums on nuclear testing and refrain from actions capable of triggering a new arms race.
He warned that technological advances could shorten decision-making times, complicate crisis management and increase the possibility of misunderstanding, accident or catastrophic miscalculation.
The Secretary-General stressed that nuclear disarmament was not an abstract aspiration but an urgent requirement for humanity’s survival and collective security.
He said the international community must reject the belief that peace could indefinitely rest on the threat of mutual destruction.
The Secretary-General maintained that the only certain protection against the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons was their complete elimination.
“Our goal must be clear: the total elimination of nuclear weapons,” Guterres said.
The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons is observed annually on Sept. 26 to mobilise international action toward achieving a nuclear-weapons-free world.
The UN General Assembly established the observance to increase public awareness and strengthen international commitment to nuclear disarmament.
Discussion0