Peruvian Foreign Affairs Minister Mario Lopez affirmed that the violations and challenges to the nuclear non-proliferation regimes have become again the biggest threat to peace and collective security in today's world.
Since its establishment —in which Peru took part 75 years ago— the
United Nations has introduced nuclear disarmament as one of its goals. The elimination of nuclear weapons was the topic of the first resolution adopted by the
General Assembly, a few months after the tragedy and horror that occurred in Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
According to the high-ranking official, the international instruments adopted throughout these decades had a nuclear hope, which would lead the world to disarmament and peaceful use of nuclear energy, such as the
Atoms for Peace initiative, which resulted in the
International Atomic Energy Agency. However, nuclear disarmament remains an objective to be achieved.
What is worse, he said, nuclear disarmament has stopped: A number of countries waste their resources in programs to produce, maintain, and modernize nuclear weapons.
"Nowadays, more than half of the world's population lives in countries that have nuclear weapons or are members of nuclear alliances. Despite the catastrophic consequences of using only one of them, there are still 17,000 nuclear weapons in the world today," he stated.
Additionally, the Cabinet member emphasized that no nuclear weapon has been destroyed in the past years as a result of bilateral or multilateral treaties.
"The impacts of the health and socio-economic pandemic and its lethality have revealed our weaknesses, as well as the need to cooperate in close coordination to combat it," the minister stated.
"This encourages us to review those other international threats, such as the one that has convened us today, which requires a multisectoral commitment to overcoming it through the institutional architecture created for such purpose, and whose most complete expression is the United Nations," he added.
On the matter, Ambassador Lopez affirmed that Peru maintains its firm stance in favor of the application of the three pillars of the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT): preventing the acquisition of nuclear weapons by additional States, cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and total nuclear disarmament.
Likewise, the diplomat noted that Peru's international commitment has increased with the signing of the
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). "Its binding nature will strengthen the disarmament and non-proliferation regime, and the implementation of Article VI of the NPT, so we expect that everyone can adhere to it, mainly the countries that have nuclear arsenals," he expressed.
Finally, he stated that Peru reiterates its commitment to promoting all necessary measures and backing those initiatives aimed at putting into effect the legally binding obligations of not having or eliminating nuclear weapons around the world as soon as possible.
(END) NDP/RMB/MVB
Published: 10/3/2020