UNITED NATIONS, Feb 25: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the risk of nuclear conflict is rising \u2013- as global security arrangements unravel and military spending soars \u2013- urging governments to push for total disarmament.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe nuclear option is not an option at all,\u201d he said, addressing the UN Conference on Disarmament in Geneva on Monday.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is a one-way road to annihilation. We need to avoid this dead-end at all costs.\u201d<\/p>\n
The UN chief warned delegates of heightened global security concerns, noting that trust between nations is crumbling, international law is being undermined and multilateral treaties are under strain.<\/p>\n
The so-called \u201cDoomsday Clock\u201d \u2013 a metaphorical indicator of how close humanity is to destroying the world \u2013 moved one second closer to midnight last month, underscoring the growing peril.<\/p>\n
\u201cOthers are expanding their inventories of nuclear weapons and materials. Some continue to rattle the nuclear sabre as a means of coercion. We see signs of new arms races including in outer space,\u201d Guterres said.<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd the weaponization of Artificial Intelligence is moving forward at an alarming pace.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the grim picture, the Secretary-General highlighted the Pact for the Future adopted by world leaders at the General Assembly last September, as a sign of hope.<\/p>\n
It marked the first new international nuclear disarmament agreement in over a decade.<\/p>\n
\u201cThrough the Pact, Member States also committed to revitalizing the role of the United Nations in disarmament,\u201d he
\nsaid, calling also for holding accountable anyone who uses chemical or biological weapons.<\/p>\n
Alongside, he urged delegates to prevent an arms race in outer space through new negotiations, calling for the UN\u2019s role in disarmament and global security to be strengthened.<\/p>\n
\u201cHumanity is counting on us to get this right. Let us keep working to deliver the safe, secure and peaceful world that every person needs and deserves,\u201d Guterres said.<\/p>\n
The Conference on Disarmament (CD) is the world\u2019s sole multilateral forum for negotiating arms control and disarmament agreements.<\/p>\n
Comprising 65 member states, including nuclear and militarily significant nations, the Conference has played a key role in shaping treaties such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).<\/p>\n
Its agenda includes nuclear disarmament, preventing an arms race in outer space, and addressing new weapons of mass destruction. Non-member States also attend its sessions, with 50 joining discussions in 2019, the highest in two decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
UNITED NATIONS, Feb 25: UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has warned that the risk of nuclear conflict is rising \u2013- as global security arrangements unravel and military spending soars \u2013- urging governments to push for total disarmament. \u201cThe nuclear option is not an option at all,\u201d […]<\/p>\n
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