UNSG warns against "apocalyptic rhetoric"
Posted: 8th March 2024
UNSG warns against “apocalyptic rhetoric”
NoFirstUse Global memo to the NPT and UNGA:
Affirm the inadmissibility of nuclear weapons threat and use!
UN Secretary-General António Guterres, in a passionate message commemorating March 5: International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, warned that “some leaders are using apocalyptic rhetoric on the use of nuclear weapons.” and 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.“
Meanwhile, NoFirstUse Global and the Abolition 2000 Working Group on Nuclear Risk Reduction sent a memo this week to government delegations to the 2024 Non-Proliferation Treaty Prep Com (which meets in July) and the UN General Assembly First Committee (which meets in October) warning about increasing threats of nuclear weapons use, and calling on these two bodies to ‘affirm the inadmissibility of the threat or use of nuclear weapons.”
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 the NPT and UNGA to affirm the 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 the memo sent this week by NoFirstUse Global to NPT and UNGA delegations.The release of the memo coincides with the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness. It follows up a call made by NoFirstUse Global and others 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 it highlights:
- Declarations from the G20 Summits in Bali and Delhi which affirm 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.
