As for the date, a high-level meeting at the organization’s headquarters in New York insisted on the need to establish a path for the permanent cessation of the use of these explosives.
At the meeting, UN Secretary-General António Guterres warned of the development of a new and worrying arms race. The number of this arsenal could increase for the first time in decades; Hard-fought standards to prevent its use, distribution and testing are being undermined, he stressed.
“Any use, at any time, in any place and in any context, would trigger a humanitarian catastrophe of epic proportions. “This is not an exaggeration, it is the eternal message of the hibakusha, the survivors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki,” he said.
The international community must strengthen and renew its commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, a regime built over decades that includes the Non-Proliferation Treaties, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Arms and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban. “On behalf of all the victims, I appeal to countries that have not yet ratified the treaty to do so immediately,” he added.
At the same time, he called for the use of the instruments of dialogue, diplomacy and negotiations to reduce tensions and put an end to the nuclear threat. “Let us usher in a new era of peace for all people,” he said.
The complete abolition of these weapons has been a long-standing concern of the United Nations since the first resolution of the UN General Assembly in 1946.
However, there are still around 12,500 of these explosives stored on the planet and the possessing countries have long-term modernization programs for their arsenals with their own funding.
The United Nations estimates that more than half of the world’s population lives in countries that either own it or are members of alliances to use it.
The International Day for the Total Abolition of Nuclear Weapons insists on reaffirming the global community’s commitment to ending their use as a priority.
(Taken from Orb)