UNFOLD ZERO Newsletter
Posted: 6th March 2024
March 5: UN Day for Disarmament & Nonproliferation Awareness
* UN Secretary-General’s Statement
Civil society call: NPT and UNGA should affirm the Inadmissibility of Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in a passionate message commemorating March 5: International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, has warned that “some leaders are using apocalyptic rhetoric on the use of nuclear weapons.” He pleaded for global leaders to “invest in peace by strengthening the systems and tools that prevent the proliferation and use of deadly weapons — including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons — and by developing disarmament solutions.”
Eliminating threats from WMD: The New Agenda for Peace
“This second International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness comes at a perilous moment, marked by rising levels of military spending, deepening geopolitical tensions and growing violent conflicts across the globe.”
“Today reminds us that disarmament and non-proliferation are critical not only to a peaceful future, but to our very existence.”
“The proposed New Agenda for Peace includes new strategies and approaches to eliminate the threats posed by nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and other emerging dangers, such as autonomous weapons systems.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres
Message for the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness
Call on NPT and UNGA to affirm Inadmissibility of threat and use of nuclear weapons
“The norm against nuclear weapons use must be strengthened at the 2024 NPT Prep Com (July) and the UN General Assembly First Committee (October) by these bodies affirming the inadmissibility of the threat or use of nuclear weapons”, according to a memobeing sent to government delegations to the NPT Prep Com and UNGA by NoFirstUse Global and the Abolition 2000 Working Group on Nuclear-Risk Reduction.
The memo, produced in conjunction with the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, follows up a call made to the 2023 NPT Prep Com to affirm the inadmissibility of nuclear weapons threat and use. The memo warns about recent nuclear threats made by Russian President Putin in the context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and highlights:
- Declarations from the G20 Summits in Bali and Delhi which affirmed that the ‘threat or use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible’;
- Declaration of the States Parties to the TPNW that calls on specific policy action(s) to implement this affirmation;
- The recent European Leadership Network (ELN) Working Paper on Inadmissibility of Nuclear Threats within the NPT Regime, which supports the proposal that the UNGA adopt a resolution on inadmissibility of the threat or use of nuclear weapons.
Call on the NPT and UNGA to affirm the inadmissibility of the threat or use of nuclear weapons
“The elevated risks of nuclear weapons use, including specific nuclear threats being made in current conflicts, make this proposed action vital in order to ensure that a nuclear catastrophe does not occur through intent, crisis escalation, miscalculation or accident.”
“The fact that the inadmissibility of the threat or use of nuclear weapons has been affirmed by G20 Summits, the G7 Feb 2024 Summit and the States Parties to the TPNW demonstrates that this position has support of both nuclear-armed and non-nuclear countries at the highest levels. It should be reflected in a UNGA First Committee resolution and in appropriate NPT language.”
Excerpts from the March 5 Memo to Delegates of the NPT and UNGA
Photo: John Hallam, Co-Chair of the Abolition 2000 Working Group on Nuclear Risk Reduction, presenting the Declaration of Public Conscience Nuclear Taboo from Norm to Law, to the 2023 NPT Prep Com.
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