UN chief Antonio Guterres hails historic joint statement by P5 States to avoid nuclear war

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has hailed the historic joint statement issued by the five nuclear-armed States on the prevention of nuclear war as well as of arms race. For the first time, China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States released a joint declaration pledging to avoid an arms race and not to target each other or any other country, according to a UN report. The five countries, who are also permanent members of the UN Security Council, also known as the P5, acknowledged that such weapons should not be spread further. 

The Secretary-General praised the awareness of the importance of adhering to bilateral and multilateral non-proliferation, disarmament, and arms control agreements and obligations, according to a statement released by his spokesperson. Regarding the nuclear disarmament, Guterres emphasised the States' commitments under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). An NPT review meeting that was scheduled to begin on Tuesday has been postponed until August owing to the prevailing COVID situation. The P5 issued the joint statement following the postponement of the review meeting. 

According to the UN chief, the resolve to seek measures to prevent nuclear war is encouraging and consistent with his long-standing demand for discussion and collaboration. Guterres said in the statement that he is looking forward to learning more about future efforts. The UN chief also used the occasion to reiterate that eliminating all nuclear weapons is the only way to eliminate all nuclear hazards. He also stressed his commitment to work with all member States to achieve this aim as quickly as feasible, as per the UN report. 

UN chief urges nations to promote peaceful use of nuclear technology 

It is significant to mention here that the development comes after the Secretary-General warned last month about the grave danger posed by the 13,000 nuclear weapons estimated to be held by a few countries. In an opinion piece published globally, Guterres stated that the threat is continuously growing and  "nuclear devastation" is only a misunderstanding or miscalculation away, the report stated. The UN chief further urged nations to promote the peaceful use of nuclear technology for medical and other purposes, which according to him, was the reason why the NPT gained the support of non-nuclear-weapons States. 

Image: AP