Disarmament

In Chad, catastrophic flooding in 11 of the country’s 23 provinces has killed 22 people, as of 16 August, and caused extensive damage to homes, infrastructure, agricultural lands and livestock, impacting 340,000 people. The United Nations and aid partners are supporting Government-led efforts to provide lifesaving aid.

In Senegal, the Food and Agriculture Organization, UN-Women and United Nations Population Fund are helping national authorities tackle the effects of fuel and food price hikes due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine and climate change, with a joint programme benefiting over 14,000 food-insecure households in eight regions.

The ceasefire in Gaza, brokered by the United Nations and Egypt, still holds. Humanitarian partners are responding to the needs of affected families and the United Nation Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees is providing services, as usual. Meanwhile, Israel has reopened the crossings with Gaza yesterday.

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) today launched an appeal for $10.7 million to deliver life-saving health care in the next six months to over 2 million women and girls in Sri Lanka, where the health system risks collapsing amid debilitating power shortages and a lack of critical supplies and equipment.

​​​​​​​Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the Honorary Hiroshima Citizenship Ceremony, in Hiroshima, Japan, today:

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks at the anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, in Hiroshima, Japan, today:

​​​​​The Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons concluded its first week today, with gripping first-hand accounts by those who survived the horrors of atomic production, testing and use, and who moved the debate from one of concepts and proposals towards a timeless appeal to uphold a collective moral conscience in saying “never again”.

​​​​​​​Citing violations of international treaties banning the use of weapons of mass destruction, speakers meeting for a fourth day at the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons today also spotlighted the success of those instruments and urged stronger commitment to deter aggression and advance disarmament.

​​​​​​​States that possess nuclear weapons have a particular responsibility to advance nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, speakers at the Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons stressed today, as many delegates also highlighted the need to address the obstacles hindering the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.

​​​​​​​Citing an alarming rise in military spending, a widening gulf of distrust and nuclear rhetoric by the Russian Federation as it advances its war in Ukraine, Governments attending the Tenth Review Conference of the “cornerstone” agreement to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons today described heightened risks of miscalculations and proposed ways to tackle the “commitment deficit” endemic to past negotiation cycles.