‘Amid the Paucity of Hope, We Need the Audacity of Peace,’ First Committee Speakers Hear Today as They Conclude Annual General Debate
Blind Eye Turned to Attacks against People Occupied for More Than 70 Years, Says Arab League
A third world war fought piecemeal and the return of nuclear threats require a collective response that brings a durable peace built on fraternity, not on the precarious balance of deterrence, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard today as it concluded its general debate.
Amid this paucity of hope, “we need the audacity of peace”, said the Permanent Observer for the Holy See. The situation must move beyond a cold realism, partisan considerations and narrow, strategic approaches, which have failed to make peace a reality. The international community must reject war as a means of “State-craft”.
An observer for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) stressed that nuclear weapons — capable of spreading radiation across borders and down generations, causing horrific injuries and untreatable illness, and poisoning the environment for decades or centuries — are fundamentally incompatible with international humanitarian law. Any use, or threat of use of those weapons is abhorrent to the principles of humanity and the dictates of public conscience.
The Permanent Observer for the League of Arab States said that a blind eye has been turned to the attacks against people who have been occupied for more than 70 years. He warned that the ability of the United Nations’ global framework to maintain international peace and security has eroded. The Committee must use its deliberations to lessen military tensions around the world and help achieve the complete disarmament of nuclear and other mass-destruction weapons.
An observer for the State of Palestine agreed with the need to establish zones free of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, especially in the Middle East. Israel, however, has insisted on not attending the conference to establish this zone and has continued its systematic breach of relevant international resolutions and norms. It also has unequivocally refused to subject its nuclear facilities to International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards, he said.
Bahrain’s delegate said the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is the bedrock of international efforts to stop the spread of nuclear weapons and allow the peaceful use of nuclear energy and technology in such areas as health, education, the environment and clean energy. His Government supports a zone free of nuclear and other mass-destruction weapons in the Middle East, he said.
Kuwait’s speaker said geopolitical shifts are jeopardizing international peace and security. Nobody is sheltered from the “alarming” arms race with its global ramifications. He reiterated his country’s commitment to multilateral efforts, which are the best way to counter disarmament and non-proliferation challenges. The way to prevent use of nuclear weapons is their elimination.
The First Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. on Thursday, 12 October, to discuss working methods and programme planning.
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