High Level Meeting to Commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons

We gather on this International Day at a time when the risk of a nuclear weapon being used has reached heights not seen since the cold war. 

This is a time when nuclear blackmail has emerged, and some are recklessly threatening to unleash a nuclear catastrophe. 

Additionally, States are actively advancing their weapons technology, while concerning reports suggest that some may soon seek to increase their nuclear stockpiles and military resources.

We are also observing a growing nexus between nuclear weapons and domains such as outer and cyber space, and technologies such as artificial intelligence, which are multiplying the danger of a nuclear catastrophe.

In the meanwhile, the very regime designed to prevent the use, testing and proliferation of nuclear weapons is being eroded. 

In 2022, we witnessed the failure of States to achieve a consensus outcome at the Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, thereby undermining the cornerstone of the disarmament and non-proliferation regime.

In 2023, efforts to bring the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty into force were hindered when one State withdrew its ratification of the Treaty. 

2023 also marked the suspension of the implementation of the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (New START), a crucial agreement for promoting strategic stability and reducing nuclear risk between the United States and the Russian Federation. 

Not only is the disarmament and non-proliferation regime being eroded, but the disarmament forums, which should be the venues for States to come together and elaborate solutions, are increasingly becoming venues for recriminations and consensus breaking. 

This simply cannot continue.

We must step back from the nuclear precipice, and we must act now.

In the Pact for the Future, which was just adopted a few days ago, we recommitted to the goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons. 

This is a global undertaking, but nuclear-weapon States must take the lead.

I call on these States to resume dialogue with each other and to fully commit to preventing any use of a nuclear weapon.

While awaiting their total elimination on the face of the Earth, I also appeal to these States to agree that none will be the first to use nuclear weapons. There is no scenario in which the use of nuclear weapons does not end in catastrophe for us all.

I urge nuclear-weapon States to reaffirm their moratoria on nuclear testing.

The current geopolitical situation has proven that maintaining the status quo is not enough to guarantee long-term, sustainable peace and security. 

We need to bolster the implementation of all previous commitments made under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and particularly those related to disarmament. 

I call on those States which have not yet acceded to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to do so without delay.

I call on all Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to work together to ensure a successful outcome at the Review Conference in 2026. 

I also urge the United States and the Russian Federation to return to the negotiating table, to fully implement the New START Treaty, and to agree on its successor.

On this International Day, let us stand as one and denounce any threat to use nuclear weapons and let us usher in a new era of peace where we are free of the shadow of nuclear catastrophe. 

Thank you.

[END]