“Now is the time to eliminate nuclear weapons from our world , and usher in a new era of dialogue, trust and peace”, declared UN Secretary-General António Guterres on Sunday, marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
A recap of Monday’s stories in brief: Uneven child rights progress; over 10 million Afghans severely food insecure; Middle East nuclear weapons conference gets underway; Social media posts increasing child detention cases; UN and partners commit to universal health.
Representatives from across the Middle East are meeting at UN Headquarters this week in efforts to negotiate a legally binding treaty establishing a regional zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
Progress made in reducing the danger posed by nuclear arsenals has not only come to a halt, “it is going in reverse”, and any use of a nuclear weapon in the future would ignite “a humanitarian catastrophe.”
The time has come to make tangible progress to rid the world of nuclear weapons, top United Nations officials stressed today, citing the grave threat posed by such weapons to global security.
The Security Council has to be careful not to negatively impact “ordinary people” in North Korea through sanctions aimed at stopping its nuclear weapons programme.
