UN warns of ‘new race’ in nuclear arms

Hibapress

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned of a “new race” in nuclear arms in the world, while calling for diplomacy to be used to end the nuclear threat.

In his message marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (26 September), the UN chief said the celebration comes at a “worrying” time of tensions fuelled by growing geopolitical divisions and mistrust.

“While dialogue and diplomacy are needed to end the nuclear threat, we are witnessing the birth of a new nuclear arms race and the return of demonstrations of force as a tactic of coercion,” he lamented, stressing the need to put an end to “this madness before it is too late.”

He stressed that the world must deliver with one voice a clear message: the only way to eliminate the nuclear threat is to eliminate nuclear weapons, noting that disarmament and non-proliferation are two sides of the same coin.

“Progress in one of these areas leads to progress in the other,” he said, adding that States must work to achieve both goals as a matter of urgency.

“Nuclear-weapon states must lead the way by fulfilling their disarmament obligations and committing never to use such weapons under any circumstances or threaten to use them,” the senior UN official urged.

He considered it necessary to strengthen and adapt treaties and instruments aimed at preventing the proliferation and testing of nuclear weapons and eliminating these weapons, to meet current challenges, in particular those linked to technological changes likely to increase the threat.