UN disarmament chief warns of trend toward modernization, expansion of nuclear arsenals

United Nations, September 28: UN Undersecretary-General for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu on Monday warned of the trend toward the modernization and expansion of nuclear arsenals.
"In recent years we have seen a worrisome trend toward the modernization and expansion of nuclear arsenals. As the global arms control regime has crumbled, multilateral nuclear disarmament diplomacy has atrophied. As relations continue to decline amongst states that possess nuclear weapons, we cannot take for granted that the norm against nuclear testing will hold," she told the Security Council in a briefing on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), which was adopted and opened for signature 25 years ago.
Thus, a quarter of a century after states agreed to ban all nuclear tests for good, it is as important as ever to work toward upholding that norm and to pave the way to a world free of nuclear weapons. The best way to uphold the norm against testing is to reaffirm and enhance support for the CTBT -- to reinforce its existing strengths and to strive to bring about its entry into force, she said.
Since its adoption by the General Assembly in September 1996, the treaty has achieved a near-universal adherence, with 185 signatories and 170 ratifying states. It is one of the most widely supported treaties not just in the disarmament and arms control field but in multilateral diplomacy, said Nakamitsu.
The International Monitoring System, or IMS, which provides round-the-clock, real-time monitoring of any explosive nuclear activities on Earth, is now more than 90 percent complete, with over 300 stations certified. Thanks to those states that have signed and ratified the CTBT, the Provisional Technical Secretariat has been transformed into a professional hub of scientific and technical expertise, she said.
"Today we rightly celebrate the 25th anniversary of a hard-won victory in multilateral nuclear disarmament diplomacy that has consistently benefited the international community. I hope that today's event will prompt us to reinforce the achievements made so far, and provide a forum for the free exchange of ideas and suggestions on how to strengthen the monitoring regime and to reinforce and solidify the global norm against nuclear testing, and achieve the earliest entry-into-force of the treaty," said Nakamitsu.
Source: Xinhua