Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued the dire warning at the start of a long-delayed high-level meeting to review the landmark 50-year-old treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and ultimately achieving a nuclear-free world. The risk of an increase in nuclear threats and a nuclear catastrophe was also mentioned by the United States, Japan, Germany, the UN nuclear chief and several other opening speakers at the meeting to review progress and agree on future steps to implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, known as the NPT. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as North Korea prepares to conduct its seventh nuclear test, Iran has been “either unwilling or unable” to accept a deal to return to the 2015 nuclear deal aimed at reining in its nuclear program and Russia are “engaging in reckless, dangerous nuclear warfare” in Ukraine. He cited Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning after his February 24 invasion that any attempted intervention would lead to “unseen consequences”, stressing that his country is “one of the most powerful nuclear powers”. That runs counter to the assurances Ukraine was given about its sovereignty and independence when it gave up Soviet-era nuclear weapons in 1994, Blinken said, and sends “the worst possible message” to any country that thinks it needs nuclear weapons to defend and prevent herself. attack. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the world’s divisions since the last review conference in 2015, which ended without a consensus document, had grown wider, stressing that Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war had contributed “to global concern that yet another devastation from the use of nuclear weapons is a real possibility.” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Russia of “brutally violating the assurances” it gave to Ukraine in 1994 and said Moscow’s “reckless nuclear rhetoric” since its invasion of its smaller neighbor “jeopardizes everything it has achieved the NPT in five decades’. More recently, Blinken said Russia seized Europe’s largest nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhya and is using it as a military base to shoot at Ukrainians, “knowing they can’t and won’t fight back because they might accidentally hit a nuclear reactor or very radioactive waste in storage”. He said this takes the concept of having “a human shield to a whole different and horrific level”. International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General Raphael Grossi said the conflict in Ukraine is “so serious that the specter of a possible nuclear confrontation or accident has reared its terrifying head again.” He warned that at the Zaporizhia nuclear plant “the situation is becoming more dangerous by the day” and urged all countries to help make his visit to the plant possible with a team of IAEA experts, citing his efforts over the past two months were unsuccessful. Guterres told scores of ministers, officials and diplomats gathered in the General Assembly Hall that the month-long review conference was taking place “at a time of nuclear danger not seen since the height of the Cold War.” The conference is “an opportunity to take steps that will help avert certain catastrophes and set humanity on a new path toward a world without nuclear weapons,” the secretary-general said. But Guterres warned that “geopolitical weapons are reaching new highs”, nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons are in arsenals around the world and countries seeking “false security” are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on “doomsday weapons”. “All this at a time when proliferation risks are rising and guardrails to prevent escalation are weakening,” he said, “And when crises — with nuclear undertones — flare up from the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula to the invasion of Ukraine by the Russia and many other actors around the world.” Guterres called on conference participants to take several actions: to urgently strengthen and reaffirm “the 77-year-old rule against the use of nuclear weapons”, to work relentlessly to eliminate nuclear weapons with new commitments to reduce arsenals, to address “simmering tensions in the Middle East and Asia” and promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology. “Future generations rely on your commitment to step back from the abyss,” he pleaded with ministers and diplomats. “This is our moment to meet this fundamental test and lift the cloud of nuclear annihilation once and for all.” Japan’s Kishida, recalling his city of Hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb was dropped in August 1945, echoed many of Guterres’ points, saying the road to a world without nuclear weapons has become more difficult, but “giving up it is not an option”. In force since 1970, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, known as the NPT, has the widest adherence of any other arms control agreement, with some 191 countries being members. Under its provisions, the five original nuclear powers — the United States, China, Russia (then the Soviet Union), Britain, and France — agreed to negotiate the elimination of their arsenals someday, and the nations without nuclear weapons promised not to acquire them in exchange for ensuring the possibility of developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. India and Pakistan, which did not join the NPT, continued to take the bomb. So did North Korea, which ratified the pact but later announced it was withdrawing. Israel, which is not a signatory, is believed to have a nuclear arsenal but has neither confirmed nor denied this. Nevertheless, the treaty was credited with limiting the number of nuclear newcomers (US President John F. Kennedy once predicted up to 20 nuclear-armed nations) as a framework for international cooperation on disarmament. The meeting, which ends on August 26, aims to build consensus on next steps, but expectations are low for a substantive — if any — agreement. There were 133 speakers as of Monday, plus dozens of side events. The five-year review of the NPT was supposed to take place in 2020, when the world was already facing many crises, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Patricia Lewis, former director of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research, who is now in charge of international security programs at the international affairs think tank Chatham House in London, said that “President Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons have shaken the international community”. Russia is not only a signatory to the NPT, but also a depositary for treaty ratifications, and in January joined the other four nuclear powers in reiterating the statement by former US President Ronald Reagan and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that “a nuclear war will not it can never be won and you should never fight,” he told The Associated Press. Lewis said the countries participating in the review conference will have a difficult decision to make. To support the treaty and what it stands for, “governments will have to address Russia’s behavior and threats,” he said. “On the other hand, to do so risks dividing treaty members — some of whom have been persuaded by Russia’s propaganda, or at least not as concerned as, for example, NATO says.” And “Russia will undoubtedly strongly object to being named in statements and in any outcome documents,” Lewis said.
title: “Un Chief Warns World Is One Step From Nuclear Annihilation " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-30” author: “Jason Graham”
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued the dire warning at the start of a long-delayed high-level meeting to review the landmark 50-year-old treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and ultimately achieving a nuclear-free world. The risk of an increase in nuclear threats and a nuclear catastrophe was also mentioned by the United States, Japan, Germany, the UN nuclear chief and several other opening speakers at the meeting to review progress and agree on future steps to implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, known as the NPT. US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as North Korea prepares to conduct its seventh nuclear test, Iran has been “either unwilling or unable” to accept a deal to return to the 2015 nuclear deal aimed at reining in its nuclear program and Russia are “engaging in reckless, dangerous nuclear warfare” in Ukraine. He cited Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning after his February 24 invasion that any attempted intervention would lead to “unseen consequences”, stressing that his country is “one of the most powerful nuclear powers”. That runs counter to the assurances Ukraine was given about its sovereignty and independence when it gave up Soviet-era nuclear weapons in 1994, Blinken said, and sends “the worst possible message” to any country that thinks it needs nuclear weapons to defend and prevent herself. attack. Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the world’s divisions since the last review conference in 2015, which ended without a consensus document, had grown, stressing that Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war had contributed to “global concern that once again, destruction by the use of nuclear weapons is a real possibility.” German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Russia of “brutally violating the assurances” it gave to Ukraine in 1994 and said Moscow’s “reckless nuclear rhetoric” since its invasion of its smaller neighbor “jeopardizes everything that has been achieved NPT in five decades’. Putin appeared to back down on his nuclear warning in a greeting message to NPT participants posted on his website on Monday. “We believe that a nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought, and we stand for equal and indivisible security for all members of the world community,” the Russian leader said. Putin said his country “firmly follows the letter and spirit” of the NPT and expects all parties to “strictly comply with their commitments” and make “significant” contributions to the conference in strengthening the non-proliferation regime “in order to ensure peace, security. and stability in the world”. More recently, Blinken said Russia seized Europe’s largest nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhya and is using it as a military base to shoot at Ukrainians, “knowing they can’t and won’t fight back because they might accidentally hit a nuclear reactor or very radioactive waste in storage”. He said this takes the concept of having “a human shield to a whole different and horrific level”. Russia’s delegation to the NPT issued a statement on Monday evening strongly rejecting Blinken’s claim that Russia is using the Zaporizhzhya plant as a military base, saying a limited number of soldiers are there “to ensure safety and security at the production plant energy”. Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the conflict in Ukraine is “so serious that the specter of a possible nuclear confrontation or accident has reared its terrifying head again.” He warned that at the Zaporizhia nuclear plant “the situation is becoming more dangerous by the day” and urged all countries to help make his visit to the plant possible with a team of IAEA experts, citing his efforts over the past two months were unsuccessful. Guterres told scores of ministers, officials and diplomats gathered in the General Assembly Hall that the month-long review conference was taking place “at a time of nuclear danger not seen since the height of the Cold War.” The conference is “an opportunity to take steps that will help avert certain catastrophes and set humanity on a new path toward a world without nuclear weapons,” the secretary-general said. But Guterres warned that “geopolitical weapons are reaching new highs”, nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons are in arsenals around the world and countries seeking “false security” are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on “doomsday weapons”. “All this at a time when proliferation risks are rising and guardrails to prevent escalation are weakening,” he said, “And when crises — with nuclear undertones — flare up from the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula to the invasion of Ukraine by the Russia and many other actors around the world.” Guterres called on conference participants to take several actions: to urgently strengthen and reaffirm “the 77-year-old rule against the use of nuclear weapons”, to work relentlessly to eliminate nuclear weapons with new commitments to reduce arsenals, to address “simmering tensions in the Middle East and Asia” and promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology. “Future generations rely on your commitment to step back from the abyss,” he pleaded with ministers and diplomats. “This is our moment to meet this fundamental test and lift the cloud of nuclear annihilation once and for all.” Japan’s Kishida, recalling his city of Hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb was dropped in August 1945, echoed many of Guterres’ points, saying the road to a world without nuclear weapons has become more difficult, but “giving up it is not an option”. In force since 1970, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, known as the NPT, has the widest adherence of any other arms control agreement, with some 191 countries being members. Under its provisions, the five original nuclear powers — the United States, China, Russia (then the Soviet Union), Britain, and France — agreed to negotiate the elimination of their arsenals someday, and the nations without nuclear weapons promised not to acquire them in exchange for ensuring the possibility of developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. India and Pakistan, which did not join the NPT, continued to take the bomb. So did North Korea, which ratified the pact but later announced it was withdrawing. Israel, which is not a signatory, is believed to have a nuclear arsenal but has neither confirmed nor denied this. Nevertheless, the treaty was credited with limiting the number of nuclear newcomers (US President John F. Kennedy once predicted up to 20 nuclear-armed nations) as a framework for international cooperation on disarmament. The meeting, which ends on August 26, aims to build consensus on next steps, but expectations are low for a substantive — if any — agreement. There were 133 speakers as of Monday, plus dozens of side events. The five-year review of the NPT was supposed to take place in 2020, when the world was already facing many crises, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Patricia Lewis, former director of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research, who is now in charge of international security programs at the international affairs think tank Chatham House in London, said that “President Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons have shaken the international community”. Russia is not only a signatory to the NPT, but also a depositary for treaty ratifications, and in January joined the other four nuclear powers in reiterating the statement by former US President Ronald Reagan and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that “a nuclear war will not it can never be won and you should never fight,” he told The Associated Press. Lewis said the countries participating in the review conference will have a difficult decision to make. To support the treaty and what it stands for, “governments will have to address Russia’s behavior and threats,” he said. “On the other hand, to do so risks dividing treaty members — some of whom have been persuaded by Russia’s propaganda, or at least not as concerned as, for example, NATO says.” And “Russia will undoubtedly strongly object to being named in statements and in any outcome documents,” Lewis said.
Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.
title: “Un Chief Warns World Is One Step From Nuclear Annihilation " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-04” author: “Frances Pryce”
UNITED NATIONS (AP) – The head of the United Nations warned Monday that “humanity is only a misunderstanding, a miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation,” citing the war in Ukraine, nuclear threats in Asia and the Middle East and many other factors.
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres issued the dire warning at the start of a long-delayed high-level meeting to review the landmark 50-year-old treaty aimed at preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and ultimately achieving a nuclear-free world.
The risk of an increase in nuclear threats and a nuclear catastrophe was also mentioned by the United States, Japan, Germany, the UN nuclear chief and several other opening speakers at the meeting to review progress and agree on future steps to implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, known as the NPT.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as North Korea prepares to conduct its seventh nuclear test, Iran has been “either unwilling or unable” to accept a deal to return to the 2015 nuclear deal aimed at reining in its nuclear program and Russia are “engaging in reckless, dangerous nuclear warfare” in Ukraine.
He cited Russian President Vladimir Putin’s warning after his February 24 invasion that any attempted intervention would lead to “unseen consequences”, stressing that his country is “one of the most powerful nuclear powers”.
That runs counter to the assurances Ukraine was given about its sovereignty and independence when it gave up Soviet-era nuclear weapons in 1994, Blinken said, and sends “the worst possible message” to any country that thinks it needs nuclear weapons to defend and prevent herself. attack.
Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said the world’s divisions since the last review conference in 2015, which ended without a consensus document, had grown, stressing that Russia’s threat to use nuclear weapons in the Ukraine war had contributed to “global concern that once again, destruction by the use of nuclear weapons is a real possibility.”
German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock accused Russia of “brutally violating the assurances” it gave to Ukraine in 1994 and said Moscow’s “reckless nuclear rhetoric” since its invasion of its smaller neighbor “jeopardizes everything that has been achieved NPT in five decades’.
Putin appeared to back down on his nuclear warning in a greeting message to NPT participants posted on his website on Monday.
“We believe that a nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought, and we stand for equal and indivisible security for all members of the world community,” the Russian leader said.
Putin said his country “firmly follows the letter and spirit” of the NPT and expects all parties to “strictly comply with their commitments” and make “significant” contributions to the conference in strengthening the non-proliferation regime “in order to ensure peace, security. and stability in the world”.
More recently, Blinken said Russia seized Europe’s largest nuclear plant in Zaporizhzhya and is using it as a military base to shoot at Ukrainians, “knowing they can’t and won’t fight back because they might accidentally hit a nuclear reactor or very radioactive waste in storage”. He said this takes the concept of having “a human shield to a whole different and horrific level”.
Russia’s delegation to the NPT issued a statement on Monday evening strongly rejecting Blinken’s claim that Russia is using the Zaporizhzhya plant as a military base, saying a limited number of soldiers are there “to ensure safety and security at the production plant energy”.
Rafael Grossi, director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, said the conflict in Ukraine is “so serious that the specter of a possible nuclear confrontation or accident has reared its terrifying head again.”
He warned that at the Zaporizhia nuclear plant “the situation is becoming more dangerous by the day” and urged all countries to help make his visit to the plant possible with a team of IAEA experts, citing his efforts over the past two months were unsuccessful.
Guterres told scores of ministers, officials and diplomats gathered in the General Assembly Hall that the month-long review conference was taking place “at a time of nuclear danger not seen since the height of the Cold War.”
The conference is “an opportunity to take steps that will help avert certain catastrophes and set humanity on a new path toward a world without nuclear weapons,” the secretary-general said.
But Guterres warned that “geopolitical weapons are reaching new highs”, nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons are in arsenals around the world and countries seeking “false security” are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on “doomsday weapons”.
“All this at a time when proliferation risks are rising and guardrails to prevent escalation are weakening,” he said, “And when crises — with nuclear undertones — flare up from the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula to the invasion of Ukraine by the Russia and many other actors around the world.”
Guterres called on conference participants to take several actions: to urgently strengthen and reaffirm “the 77-year-old rule against the use of nuclear weapons”, to work relentlessly to eliminate nuclear weapons with new commitments to reduce arsenals, to address “simmering tensions in the Middle East and Asia” and promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology.
“Future generations rely on your commitment to step back from the abyss,” he pleaded with ministers and diplomats. “This is our moment to meet this fundamental test and lift the cloud of nuclear annihilation once and for all.”
Japan’s Kishida, recalling his city of Hiroshima, where the first atomic bomb was dropped in August 1945, echoed many of Guterres’ points, saying the road to a world without nuclear weapons has become more difficult, but “giving up it is not an option”.
In force since 1970, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, known as the NPT, has the widest adherence of any other arms control agreement, with some 191 countries being members.
Under its provisions, the five original nuclear powers — the United States, China, Russia (then the Soviet Union), Britain, and France — agreed to negotiate the elimination of their arsenals someday, and the nations without nuclear weapons promised not to acquire them in exchange for ensuring the possibility of developing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
India and Pakistan, which did not join the NPT, continued to take the bomb. So did North Korea, which ratified the pact but later announced it was withdrawing. Israel, which is not a signatory, is believed to have a nuclear arsenal but has neither confirmed nor denied this. Nevertheless, the treaty was credited with limiting the number of nuclear newcomers (US President John F. Kennedy once predicted up to 20 nuclear-armed nations) as a framework for international cooperation on disarmament.
The meeting, which ends on August 26, aims to build consensus on next steps, but expectations are low for a substantive – if any – agreement. There were 133 speakers as of Monday, plus dozens of side events.
The five-year review of the NPT was supposed to take place in 2020, when the world was already facing many crises, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
Patricia Lewis, former director of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research, who is now in charge of international security programs at the international affairs think tank Chatham House in London, said that “President Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons have shaken the international community”.
Russia is not only a signatory to the NPT, but also a depositary for treaty ratifications, and in January joined the other four nuclear powers in reiterating the statement by former US President Ronald Reagan and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that “a nuclear war will not it can never be won and you should never fight,” he told The Associated Press.
Lewis said the countries participating in the review conference will have a difficult decision to make.
To support the treaty and what it stands for, “governments will have to address Russia’s behavior and threats,” he said. “On the other hand, to do so risks dividing treaty members — some of whom have been persuaded by Russia’s propaganda, or at least not as concerned as, for example, NATO says.”
And “Russia will undoubtedly strongly object to being named in statements and in any outcome documents,” Lewis said.
Associated Press writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report.
title: “Un Chief Warns World Is One Step From Nuclear Annihilation " ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-30” author: “Amy Williams”
The head of the United Nations warned the world on Monday that “humanity is only a misunderstanding, a miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation.” Secretary-General Antonio Guterres gave the dire warning at the start of a long-delayed high-level meeting to review the landmark 50-year-old treaty aimed at preventing the proliferation of nuclear weapons and ultimately achieving a nuclear-free world. He specifically cited the war in Ukraine and the threat of nuclear weapons in conflicts in the Middle East and Asia, two regions that are “heading for disaster.” Mr Guterres told scores of ministers, officials and diplomats attending the month-long conference to review the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons that the meeting was taking place “at a critical juncture for our collective peace and security” and “in a period of nuclear danger not seen since the height of the Cold War.” The conference is “an opportunity to take steps that will help avert certain catastrophes and set humanity on a new path toward a world without nuclear weapons,” the secretary-general said. But Mr Guterres warned that “geopolitical weapons are reaching new highs”, nearly 13,000 nuclear weapons are in arsenals around the world and countries seeking “false security” are spending hundreds of billions of dollars on “doomsday weapons”. “All this at a time when proliferation risks are rising and guardrails to prevent escalation are weakening,” he said, “And when crises – with nuclear undertones – are flaring up from the Middle East and the Korean Peninsula to the Russian invasion of Ukraine . “ Mr. Guterres called on conference participants to take several actions: Urgently strengthen and reaffirm “the 77-year rule against the use of nuclear weapons,” work relentlessly to eliminate nuclear weapons with new commitments to reduce arsenals. simmering tensions in the Middle East and Asia’ and promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology. “Future generations rely on your commitment to step back from the abyss,” he pleaded with ministers and diplomats. “This is our moment to meet this fundamental test and lift the cloud of nuclear annihilation once and for all.” In force since 1970, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, known as the NPT, has the widest adherence of any other arms control agreement, with some 191 countries being members. Under its provisions, the five original nuclear powers – the United States, China, Russia (then the Soviet Union), Britain and France – agreed to negotiate the elimination of their arsenals someday, and non-nuclear-weapon nations promised not to. obtain in return a guarantee for the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. India and Pakistan, which did not join the NPT, continued to take the bomb. So did North Korea, which ratified the pact but later announced it was withdrawing. Israel, which is not a signatory, is believed to have a nuclear arsenal, but has neither confirmed nor denied this. Nevertheless, the treaty was credited with limiting the number of nuclear newcomers (US President John F. Kennedy once predicted as many as 20 nuclear-armed nations) as a framework for international cooperation on disarmament. The meeting, which ends on August 26, aims to build consensus on next steps, but expectations are low for a substantive – if any – agreement. But Swiss President Ignazio Cassis, Prime Ministers Fumio Kishida of Japan and Frank Bainimarama of Fiji and more than a dozen foreign ministers are among those attending from at least 116 countries, according to a UN official who spoke on condition of anonymity because he had not authorization to speak publicly before the conference. Other speakers at Monday’s opening include UN nuclear chief Rafael Grossi, the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency, US Secretary of State Anthony Blinken and German Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock. The five-year review of the NPT was supposed to take place in 2020, when the world was already facing many crises, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It comes at a time of heightened fears of nuclear conflict, fueled by Russia’s comments following its February 24 invasion of neighboring Ukraine. Russian President Vladimir Putin warned at the time that any attempt to intervene would lead to “unseen consequences” and stressed that his country was “one of the most powerful nuclear powers”. Days later, Mr. Putin ordered Russia’s nuclear forces to be put on the highest alert. Patricia Lewis, former director of the UN Institute for Disarmament Research, who is now in charge of international security programs at the international affairs think tank Chatham House in London, said that “President Putin’s threats to use nuclear weapons have shaken the international community”. Russia is not only a signatory to the NPT, but also a depositary for ratifying the treaties, and in January, it joined the other four nuclear powers in reiterating the declaration by former US President Ronald Reagan and former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev that “a nuclear war it can never be won. and it should never be fought,” he told The Associated Press. Ms Lewis said countries participating in the review conference would have a difficult decision to make. To support the treaty and what it stands for, “governments will have to address Russia’s behavior and threats,” he said. “On the other hand, to do so risks dividing treaty members – some of whom have been persuaded by Russian propaganda or at least are not as concerned as, for example, NATO states.” And “Russia will undoubtedly strongly object to being named in statements and in any outcome documents,” Ms Lewis said. The Morning Update and Afternoon Update newsletters are written by Globe editors, giving you a concise summary of the day’s most important headlines. Sign up today.