UNITED NATIONS: The United Nations on Tuesday called for more global action to end nuclear testing, warning against the danger of ‘collective suicide’.
In his message marking the International Day against Nuclear Tests, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appealed for key countries to ratify the international treaty that bans experiments for both peaceful and military purposes. “This year, we face an alarming rise in global mistrust and division,” he said.
“At a time in which nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons are stockpiled around the world — and countries are working to improve their accuracy, reach and destructive power — this is a recipe for annihilation.” The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) therefore represents a “fundamental step in our quest for a world free of nuclear weapons,” he added.
The treaty opened for signature in September 1996 but has yet to enter into force because it must be signed and ratified by 44 specific nuclear technology holder countries, “eight of which have yet to ratify it: Pakistan, India, Iran, China, Egypt, Israel, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and the United States.”
“In the name of all victims of nuclear testing, I call on all countries that have not yet ratified the Treaty to do so immediately, without conditions,” said the UN chief.
The President of the UN General Assembly, Csaba Korosi, echoed this message during a commemorative event at UN Headquarters in New York. “Heightened distrust, geopolitical competition and a growing number of armed conflicts have only increased the dangers in our world. Particularly if we consider the regular threats of resorting to a nuclear strike in the on-going war against Ukraine,” he said. –Agencies
