Antonio Guterres clarified that such a “nuclear danger (had) not been known since the height of the Cold War”. The head of the UN also acknowledged that “nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons are stored” in the world.
Humanity is just “a misunderstanding” Where “an error in judgment” of the'”annihilation nuclear “, warned Monday, August 1, the Secretary General of the UN, considering that such a “nuclear danger (had) not been known since the height of the cold War “. “We have been extraordinarily lucky so far. But luck is not a strategy or a shield to prevent geopolitical tensions from escalating into nuclear conflict.declared Antonio Guterres at the opening of a conference of the 191 signatory countries of the nuclear non-proliferation treaty (NPT). “Today humanity is one misunderstanding, miscalculation of nuclear annihilation“, he hammered, calling to build a world”rid of nuclear weapons“.
After being postponed several times since 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the 10th review conference of the NPT, an international treaty that came into force in 1970 to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons, is being held until 26 August at the United Nations headquarters in New York. This meeting is aopportunity to strengthen this treaty and bring it into line with today’s world“, declared Antonio Guterres, hoping for a reaffirmation of the non-use of nuclear weapons but also of “new commitmentsto reduce the arsenal.
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13,000 nuclear weapons stored in the world
“Eliminating nuclear weapons is the only guarantee that they will never be used“, he added again, specifying that he would go in a few days to Hiroshima for the anniversary of the bombardment. “Nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons are stored in arsenals around the world. At a time when the risks of proliferation are growing and the safeguards to prevent this escalation are weakening“, he insisted, referring in particular to the “seizuresin the Middle East, the Korean Peninsula and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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At the beginning of January, the five members of the Security Council (United States, China, Russia, United Kingdom and France), also nuclear powers, had committed themselves to “prevent further disseminationnuclear, just before another postponement of the review conference, and before the invasion of Ukraine by Russia. On Monday, the United States, United Kingdom and France reaffirmed this commitment in a joint statement, reaffirming that “a nuclear war cannot be won and must never take place“. But the three nuclear powers also pointed the finger at Russia, calling on it to respect its international commitments. “Following Russia’s unprovoked and illegal aggression against Ukraine, we call on Russia to stop its nuclear rhetoric and its irresponsible and dangerous attitude“, they added.
US President Joe Biden has called on Russia and China to start talks on nuclear arms control. He reiterated that his administration was ready to “negotiate quicklya replacement for New START, the treaty capping intercontinental nuclear forces in the United States and Russia, which is due to expire in 2026.