UNIS/SGSM/1383
1 March 2024
This second International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness comes at a perilous moment, marked by rising levels of military spending, deepening geopolitical tensions and growing violent conflicts across the globe.
Meanwhile, some leaders are using apocalyptic rhetoric on the use of nuclear weapons. The proliferation of illicit small arms and light weapons, the use of explosive devices in populated areas, and the growing military application of new and emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, are also serious concerns.
Today reminds us that disarmament and non-proliferation are critical not only to a peaceful future, but to our very existence.
Global leaders must invest in peace by strengthening the systems and tools that prevent the proliferation and use of deadly weapons — including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons — and by developing disarmament solutions.
The proposed New Agenda for Peace includes new strategies and approaches to eliminate the threats posed by nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and other emerging dangers, such as autonomous weapons systems.
On this important day, let us speak with one loud, clear and united voice.
It’s time to stop the madness. We need disarmament now.
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"Female genital mutilation is a horrific act of gender-based violence. More than 230 million girls and women alive today are survivors of this abhorrent practice." — António Guterres
"This year marks the eightieth anniversary of the Holocaust's end. We mourn the six million Jews murdered by the Nazis and their collaborators, as they sought to destroy an entire people. " — António Guterres
The new Permanent Representative of Peru to the United Nations (Vienna), María Eugenia Echeverría, presented her credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
The new Permanent Representative of Jamaica to the United Nations (Vienna), Richard Brown, presented his credentials today to the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Vienna (UNOV), Ghada Waly.
