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Demanding Global Ban, UN Chief Calls Nuclear Weapons a 'Recipe for Annihilation'
Addressing the first meeting of state parties to the landmark United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in Vienna, Guterres called the world's thermonuclear arsenals "a deadly reminder of countries' inability to solve problems through dialogue and collaboration."
"These weapons offer false promises of security and deterrence--while guaranteeing only destruction, death, and endless brinksmanship," Guterres said in his video message.
"Let's eliminate these weapons," he added, "before they eliminate us."
Guterres lamented that the "terrifying lessons" of the U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan--the only nuclear war ever waged--are fading from memory. With nine nations now armed with over 13,000 nuclear weapons, the U.N. chief warned that "the once-unthinkable prospect of nuclear conflict is now back within the realm of possibility."
The TPNW was adopted in 2017 and took effect in January 2021 after Honduras became the 50th nation to ratify the accord. To date, 86 countries have signed and 65 have ratified the TPNW. None of the nine nuclear countries--China, France, India, Israel, North Korea, Pakistan, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States--have signed the agreement.
"This is a recipe for annihilation," Guterres stressed. "We cannot allow the nuclear weapons wielded by a handful of states to jeopardize all life on our planet. We must stop knocking at doomsday's door."
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Guterres' remarks come amid heightened nuclear tensions during Russia's invasion and Western powers' arming of Ukraine, and as the world's nuclear stockpile expands for the first time since the last decade of the Cold War a generation ago.
Amid 'Heightened' Fears of Nuclear War, Dem Lawmakers Urge US to Join Arms Summit
The lawmakers note that the conference will take place in the shadow of Russia's invasion of Ukraine, "which has heightened concerns about the use of nuclear weapons in conflict."
"Active U.S. participation in the conference will provide an important platform to discuss the current unsettling state of nuclear affairs in the world and demonstrate U.S. leadership in managing the nuclear threat," the authors argue.
They add that nuclear "saber-rattling" by Russian President Vladimir Putin and his government and Russia's "vast arsenal of tactical or 'battlefield' nuclear weapons" is a "frightening reminder that the conventional war in Ukraine could turn nuclear--whether intentionally, by miscalculation, or even by accident."
Nearly 70% of respondents to a March survey conducted for the American Psychological Association said they feared Russia's war in Ukraine will escalate to include use of nuclear weapons.
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Highlighting U.S. nuclear history, which includes waging the world's only nuclear war on Japan and exposing people from Nevada to the Marshall Islands with deadly fallout from atomic weapons testing, the lawmakers assert that "the United States has a--sadly--unique perspective on the human consequences of the production, testing, and use of nuclear weapons."
"We would bring a needed and voice and invaluable insight to the conference," the letter contents, adding that U.S. participation "would show our commitment to playing a leadership role in ensuring that nuclear weapons are never used in warfare again."
The letter dismisses the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, a historic 2021 agreement signed by scores of nations--but none of the nine nuclear powers--as unrealistic given the world's current atomic landscape.
Instead, the lawmakers affirm former President Barack Obama's nebulous commitment to seek "the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons."
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