Increasing Confrontation Involving States with Nuclear-Weapon Capabilities ‘Most Dangerous’ International Security Threat, First Committee Told
International security and strategic stability, far from stabilizing, has continued to deteriorate at an alarming pace, the representative of the Russian Federation today told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), as it continued its general debate.
Most dangerous, she said, is increasing confrontation involving States with military nuclear capabilities. There is a lack of willingness to engage in political and diplomatic work towards de-escalation and settlement of inter-State disputes, based on equality and the principle of indivisible security.
The imminent transition to multipolarity is fiercely hampered by the United States-led West, unwilling to give up its hegemonic ambitions. She called “extremely dangerous” the course taken by the United States and its accomplices to escalate the Ukraine “crisis,” with a view to inflicting a strategic defeat on her country and suppressing its “input” into establishing a just world order.
The West, she went on, is blatantly and cynically blocking any prospects for a comprehensive and lasting settlement of the conflict around Ukraine. Proclaiming the irreversibility of Kyiv's path to NATO (North Atlantic Treaty Organization) largely led to the current crisis. She also pointed to Washington's efforts to develop the global missile defence system, combined with the build-up of high-precision non-nuclear weapons for disarming and decapitating strikes, as well as the forward deployment of its nuclear weapons in Europe. Also disturbing were unresolved and growing issues related to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and unanswered questions concerning biological activity by the United States and Ukraine on Ukrainian territory, in violation of the Biological Weapons Convention.
Ukraine’s representative said the Russian Federation’s “reckless nuclear rhetoric” and its announcement of a revision to its nuclear doctrine, as well as termination or suspension of its arms control and non-proliferation treaty obligations is “a vivid example” of the undermining by certain States of international non-proliferation and disarmament efforts. That country’s occupation of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant and its missile attacks against Ukrainian energy infrastructure gravely threaten the nuclear safety and security of Ukraine and beyond. And, according to recent intelligence data, the Russian Federation is planning direct attacks on Ukrainian nuclear power plants and their infrastructure, as well as critical sub-stations, aiming to disconnect the plants from the power grid.
She highlighted the growing alliance between the Russian Federation and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea in the supply of weapons and ammunition, and transfer of the “DPRK’s militaries” to the Russian Federation’s military forces. She also noted the Russian Federation’s attacks with Iranian-made unmanned aerial vehicles. She called on Tehran to refrain from any delivery of weapons to the Russian Federation. Moreover, the Russian Federation regularly uses munitions filled with hazardous chemical substances and riot control agents, as a method of warfare against Ukraine. Additionally, she said, “Almost a third of the entire territory of Ukraine is contaminated with mines and explosive remnants of war”.
Echoing those concerns, the representative of Poland said the Russian Federation’s war in Ukraine is causing widespread death and suffering among Ukrainians, and its effects extend beyond the region, threatening the security of all. Moscow’s “deliberate strategy is to shatter the European and international security architecture”. Poland has no illusions about the Russian Federation’s clear pursuit of imperial ambitions and its aim to restore its sphere of influence. He said, “As long as this irresponsible and destructive policy continues, the international security architecture will be exposed to its adverse impact, and prospects of progress in arms control and disarmament will remain grim”.
He added that the Russian Federation’s increased “reckless nuclear rhetoric,” including explicit threats against non-nuclear-weapon States, further undermines international security. Moscow's recent plans to revise its nuclear doctrine, potentially diminishing the nuclear threshold and increasing the risk of miscalculation, along with the purported deployment of its tactical nuclear weapons in Belarus and the expansion of related infrastructure, are further examples of its destructive policies. Theyare deeply damaging to international relations and global stability.
In the same vein, the representative of France said that the Russian Federation’s aggression against Ukraine is undermining international peace and security, and directly affecting the work of the First Committee. She deplores the Russian Federation’s suspension of its participation in the New START Treaty, its use of irresponsible nuclear rhetoric and attacks on energy infrastructure, including nuclear.
“France does not forget that other armed conflicts continue to claim many civilian victims in Sudan, the Sahel, Yemen and elsewhere,” she said. She also condemns the terrorist attack carried out by Hamas against Israel on 7 October 2023 and underscores that the imperative of respecting international humanitarian law applies to everyone, including Israel. “In Lebanon, Israel must end its military operations, which have already claimed too many civilian victims,” she said, adding that Lebanon’s territorial integrity must be restored.
Her country is fully mobilized to find a diplomatic solution to the nuclear proliferation crises, she said, calling on Iran to reverse the escalation of its nuclear programme and urging the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to immediately abandon all its proliferation programmes in a complete, verifiable and irreversible manner. Paris also remains mobilized to defend the ban on chemical weapons, while certain States, such as Syria, have developed and used these weapons against their own populations, she said, expressing particular concern about the allegations that the Russian Federation used riot control agents in Ukraine.
The representative of Norway said that the Russian Federation’s use of those agents and of chloropicrin as methods of warfare in Ukraine is “abhorrent”. She urged the Russian Federation to end its illegal, brutal war of aggression in Ukraine, and she called Moscow’s irresponsible nuclear rhetoric, its stationing of nuclear weapons in Belarus, and suspension of its participation in the New START Treaty deplorable.
Any use of nuclear weapons would have global ramifications, as the humanitarian and environmental consequences would be catastrophic, she warned, calling on the Russian Federation and China to engage in a substantive dialogue on nuclear arms control and risk reduction measures. Spotlighting the weapons transfers to the Russian Federation from the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Iran, and the extensive exports of dual-use items from China, she said this only serves to prolong Moscow’s war in Ukraine and is truly destabilizing. She urged the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to abandon its nuclear and ballistic programmes and Iran to return to compliance with its nuclear-related commitments.
Noting the wars in the Middle East, Sudan, Eastern Democratic Republic of Congo and Ukraine, the Tanzanian delegate said the amount of human suffering is unimaginable but true. He said the use of sophisticated and advanced weapons in Ukraine and the Middle East is an indicator that the current disarmament measures are inappropriate and need to be adjusted. Conflicts in the Middle East and Ukraine show that nuclear danger is not a conspiracy theory but a serious threat, which is increasing and could get out of control.
Sounding the same note, Nicaragua’s delegate said: “Every day we face new threats, increasingly complex, that contravene the principles of international law, like the increase and politicization of technologies that exacerbate existing challenges”. Noting that nuclear arsenals continue to increase, modernize and develop, putting the existence of life on Earth at serious risk, he nevertheless reaffirmed the inalienable right of every State to develop research, produce and use nuclear energy. That includes the sovereign right to develop the complete nuclear fuel cycle for peaceful purposes, without discrimination.
India’s speaker emphasized that his country, as a nuclear-weapon State, has an undiminished commitment to universal, non-discriminatory and verifiable nuclear disarmament. This goal can be achieved by a step-by-step process underwritten by a universal commitment and an agreed multilateral framework, which is global and non-discriminatory. He added that India is a responsible nuclear-weapon State and is committed, as per its nuclear doctrine, to a policy of credible minimum deterrence, with the posture of no-first use and non-use against non-nuclear-weapon States.
At the end of the meeting, rights of reply were made by the representatives of the United States, Israel, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Syria, Iran, Mauritania and Jordan.