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.
In progress at UNHQ
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.
Calling for the world to avoid the “suicidal mistake” of nuclear conflict, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stressed that while humanity has been extraordinarily lucky so far, “luck is not a strategy”, and the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is as crucial as ever, as the month-long Tenth Review Conference of that accord began at Headquarters today.
Following are UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ remarks to the tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, in New York today:
In Sudan, according to preliminary reports from local authorities and United Nations partners, over 31,000 people have been displaced following intercommunal violence in Ganis town in Blue Nile State. Humanitarian organizations continue to provide the displaced and other affected people with assistance.
International efforts to clarify Syria’s declarations on its chemical weapons programme still have not progressed, the United Nations disarmament chief told the Security Council today, as some delegates sparred over the contents of the fact-finding mission’s latest report.
The United Nations Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator in Syria said today that humanitarian needs there are unprecedented. Today, 14.6 million men, women and children require aid, which is an increase of 1.2 million people from 2021 and the highest level since the crisis began.
The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:
The United Nations Children’s Fund is providing emergency relief in Bangladesh to people stranded by recent floods — including 1.6 million children — and is dispatching, among other things, 400,000 water purification tablets for 80,000 households and emergency medical supplies for district health facilities.