Disarmament

As long as the possession of nuclear weapons equalled power in the global “psyche”, the implications for the future of non-proliferation and disarmament would be profound, the 2010 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Review Conference heard today.

Strong efforts to advance the creation of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East and define the contours of a legally binding international convention to eliminate nuclear weapons were urgently needed to prevent the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty from being undermined, ministers and other officials warned the 2010 Review Conference as they continued into a third day of debate.

Renewed political will might have overcome stalemates in the disarmament arena, but fell far short of the unified force needed to rid the world of nuclear weapons, ministers told the 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as it entered its second day at Headquarters today.

While many States had abolished nuclear weapons and reduced their arsenals, the global non-proliferation regime had been asleep for far too long, and it was now time to deliver on the deep global aspiration to build a safer world, United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told world leaders as the month-long 2010 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty opened at Headquarters today.

After three weeks of intensive deliberations, the Disarmament Commission had not succeeded in distinguishing its 2010 session from its previous meetings over the past 11 years, that body’s Chair said today as it concluded its annual substantive session.

Although speakers in the Disarmament Commission continued to stress the urgent need for nuclear disarmament, some speakers during today’s debate, which concluded the formal exchange of views for the session, drew attention to the scourge of small arms and light weapons ‑‑ the equivalent of “weapons of mass destruction” in Africa ‑‑ while others emphasized the need to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.

Pointing to the “fresh and affirmative spirit of multilateralism” emerging in discussions on global disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, Sergio Duarte, High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, called on the Disarmament Commission this morning as it opened its 2010 substantive session to reach consensus on creating a nuclear-weapon-free world, a new Disarmament Decade and practical confidence-building measures in the field of conventional arms.

The United Nations Disarmament Commission, ahead of its 2010 substantive session slated for 29 March to 16 April, today elected Jean-Francis Régis Zinsou (Benin) as Chair, who urged that members “look at the future with a positive spirit”.

The United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs through its Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific located in Kathmandu, Nepal, is organizing a seminar entitled “Enhancing International and Regional Cooperation to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate Illicit Brokering in Small Arms and Light Weapons in East and South-East Asia”, in Bangkok, Thailand, on 18-19 February.

A regional workshop to be held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 2 to 4 February will aim to promote the building of national- and regional-level capacity to advance full implementation of Security Council resolution 1540 (2004).