Speakers in the Security Council warned today against using disarmament and non-proliferation instruments to undermine multilateral cooperation, as the Russian Federation accused Ukraine and the United States of conducting biological weapons programmes and demanded an investigation.
Syria must respond urgently to complete all outstanding issues on the elimination of its chemical weapons programme in line with international law, the United Nations disarmament chief told the Security Council today, citing the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Technical Secretariat’s evaluation that the country’s declarations still have not advanced.
Following is the text of UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ video message for the Conference of Mayors for Peace: “Creating a Peaceful, Nuclear-Weapon-Free World: Cultivating a Culture of Peace in Civil Society”, in Hiroshima, today:
Nearly a hundred experts from Comoros, Djibouti, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles, Somalia, South Sudan, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania and Uganda gather in Mombasa, Kenya, from 18 to 19 October for a two-day regional workshop to identify concrete ways to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention in Eastern African countries.
The Office for Disarmament Affairs today launched the latest volume of the United Nations Disarmament Yearbook.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
Syria must change its attitude and cooperate fully with the body charged with verifying its compliance with international law governing chemical weapons, the United Nations disarmament chief told the Security Council today, as speakers diverged over the propriety of that body’s efforts so far.
“Nuclear weapons are the most destructive power ever created — they offer no security, just carnage and chaos,” said António Guterres, Secretary-General of the United Nations, opening the plenary meeting to mark the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks, as delivered, to the General Assembly for the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, in New York today:
In Cuba, the United Nations took part in the consultation process to make reforms to the country’s Family Code. Almost 75 per cent of Cubans voted on 25 September in a referendum on the diversity of families, affection and solidarity as key social values and strengthening the protection of a host of vulnerable groups.
