Time has come to rid the world of nuclear weapons, UN officials stress

“The only sure way to eliminate the threat posed by nuclear weapons is to eliminate the weapons themselves,” Secretary-General António Guterres said at a high-level meeting of the General Assembly to mark and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

“Such a challenging goal will not be achieved overnight. But we must take urgent action now.”

In May of this year, the Secretary-General launched his disarmament agenda, in which he recognizes that progress towards the shared goal of a world free of nuclear weapons remains uneven. He noted that efforts have stalled and, in some cases, may be going backwards.

“That is why I have called for the resumption of a sincere, substantive and results-oriented dialogue towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons, as well as the implementation of existing commitments,” he said, adding that nuclear weapon states have a responsibility to lead.

He called on the United States and Russia – “by far the largest possessors of nuclear weapons” – to resume the dialogue necessary to maintain their historic record of bilateral arsenal reductions.

At the same time, the Secretary General stressed that all States have responsibilities in the pursuit of nuclear disarmament, primarily compliance with their non-proliferation obligations.

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“No other technology, no other weapon of mass destruction, has the capacity to literally change the face of the Earth, eradicating entire societies.”

In terms of progress, he highlighted the adoption in 2017 of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a historic and legally binding instrument for nuclear disarmament that includes prohibitions on developing, testing, acquiring, using or even threatening to use nuclear weapons.

“The Treaty is a testament to the continued need and usefulness of multilateralism,” he said.

The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, observed annually on September 26, provides an occasion for the global community to reaffirm its commitment to global nuclear disarmament as a high priority. It also provides an opportunity to educate the public about the real benefits of eliminating such weapons and the social and economic costs of perpetuating them.