UNITED NATIONS ( Associated Press) – The UN Secretary-General warned the world on Monday that “humanity away from nuclear destruction is only a misunderstanding, a miscalculation.”
Antonio Guterres issued a dire warning at the opening of a long-running high-level meeting to review the historic 50-year treaty aimed at halting the spread of nuclear weapons. He specifically cited the war in Ukraine and the threat of nuclear weapons to conflicts in the Middle East and Asia, two regions “on the verge of catastrophe”.
Guterres told ministers, officials and diplomats attending the month-long conference to review the nuclear non-proliferation treaty that the meeting was taking place “at a critical point for our collective peace and security” and “in times of nuclear threat”. Haven’t seen the height of the Cold War.”
“The conference is an opportunity to work hard on measures that will help prevent some disaster and lead humanity on a new path towards a world free of nuclear weapons,” the Secretary-General stressed.
However, Guterres warned that “geopolitical weapons are reaching new highs” as there are around 13,000 nuclear weapons in arsenals worldwide and countries seeking “false security” are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on “the end of world arms”. are.
“All of this is happening at a time when spread risks are rising and the barriers to stopping growth are weakening,” he said. “And when the crisis – with a nuclear background – to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine from the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula.”
Guterres called on the participants of the conference to take a number of steps: urgently strengthen and reaffirm the “77-year regime against the use of nuclear weapons”, with new commitments to reduce stockpiles, to the abolition of nuclear weapons. Work tirelessly, address the “hidden tension in the middle.” East and Asia” and promoting the peaceful use of nuclear technology.
