Lat Am Calls at the UN for the Destruction of Nuclear Weapons

At the United Nations (UN), several Latin American countries renewed on Tuesday their call for the total prohibition of nuclear weapons, 75 years after the General Assembly of that organization made its first pronouncement on the matter.

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In his speech, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres recalled the antiquity of this demand, which in the decades that followed, countries ignored the logic of assured destruction and, instead, engaged in what he called a dangerous competition.

Guterres said that 76 years after the use of atomic weapons against civilian populations, the objectives of that historic 1946 resolution must still be achieved because these weapons are not yesterday's problem; they are still today's threat.

Argentine Foreign Minister Santiago Cafiero said that Argentina considers it essential that countries comply with their obligations under the Non-Proliferation Treaty and relevant safeguards agreements, without reservations and in good faith.

For his part, his Venezuelan counterpart, Félix Plasencia, recalled that Caracas considers that the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty remains the cornerstone of the disarmament regime.

Earlier, Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrad stressed that nuclear disarmament does not depend on weapons but the right to solidarity and international cooperation.

For his part, the president of the 76th session of the General Assembly, Abdulla Shahid, welcomed the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on January 22, 2021. He also urged the Member States that have not yet ratified the Treaty since universal adherence to it is essential for a world free of nuclear weapons.

Cuba's Minister of Foreign Affairs, Bruno Rodríguez, denounced that while the Covid-19 pandemic continues to generate a crisis with multiple and devastating effects, the United States and its allies are adopting more aggressive nuclear doctrines and modernizing and expanding their arsenals.