For information only – not an official document
UNIS/SGSM/1476
4 March 2025
Humanity’s future depends on investing in the machinery of peace, not the machinery of war.
Yet global tensions are increasing, the nuclear threat is rising, and guardrails are eroding. Meanwhile, small arms and light weapons are proliferating, and rapidly evolving technologies like Artificial Intelligence and quantum computing are deepening the dangers.
On this International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, I urge leaders to strengthen the systems and tools that prevent the proliferation, testing and use of deadly weapons and live up to their disarmament obligations.
I also call for a concerted effort in meeting the disarmament commitments contained in the recently adopted Pact for the Future. These commitments include working towards a world free of nuclear weapons, and new strategies to prevent the use of chemical and biological weapons, and to address the weaponization of outer space and the use of lethal autonomous weapons.
It’s time for leaders to put words into action, and invest in disarmament solutions and the peaceful future every person deserves.
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"Together, let's get to work and make 2025 the year we restore good health to Mother Earth." — António Guterres
The new Permanent Representative of Iran to the United Nations (Vienna), Reza Najafi, presented his credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
The new Permanent Representative of Somalia to the United Nations (Vienna), Khadra Ahmed Dualeh, presented her credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
The new Permanent Representative of Georgia to the United Nations (Vienna), Alexander Maisuradze, presented his credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.