Reflecting an escalating security crisis, described by many delegations in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) as more volatile than during the cold war, and a retrenchment of narrow political interests, a week of action began on 80 proposals today, with 24 texts on nuclear weapons requiring 79 separate recorded votes for passage.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea and the United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, on 4 and 5 November will co-host in Seoul the twenty-third Republic of Korea—United Nations Joint Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Issues.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
Outer space is facing severe security challenges, with certain countries declaring it a war-fighting domain, accelerating their space military capability build-up and heightening the risk of an arms race, the representative of China told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) in its thematic debate today.
The disarmament machinery is an essential part of the toolkit for putting good ideas into action, building consensus, bridging divisions and doing the hard work required to achieve and maintain a safer world, Australia’s delegate told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), which today concluded its thematic debate on disarmament machinery and opened its deliberations on outer space.
“It is sad but true that no region around the globe has been spared from crisis or insecurity this year,” the representative of the United States told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today in its thematic debate on regional disarmament and security, which was followed by the start of debate on the United Nations disarmament machinery.
The world is facing new and emerging technological threats, coupled with an increasingly unstable international environment and a blatant disregard by some States for international law, Ireland’s delegate today told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), which concluded its thematic debate on other disarmament measures and international security.
The inherent right to self-defence should “never be misconstrued as a free pass to commit atrocities, war crimes and crimes against humanity”, the representative of Myanmar told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today in its thematic debate on conventional weapons.
Highlighting a sharp rise in the proliferation and use of armed unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) on behalf of the Core Group of countries, the delegate for Portugal told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) that recent developments regarding their manufacturing with commercial parts and components pose several ethical, humanitarian and legal challenges related to responsibility and accountability.
The long-established rules against the development, stockpiling or use of chemical and biological weapons are under threat, the representative of the United Kingdom told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today in its thematic debate on weapons of mass destruction, following the conclusion of the debate on nuclear weapons.
