Nuclear non-proliferation talks at UN end in failure

Discussions at the United Nations on nuclear non-proliferation have once again ended without agreement, as signatory nations failed to establish priorities for the coming years. This outcome occurs amidst growing concerns about a potential new nuclear arms race.

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I have presented four versions of the draft final document, all meticulously revised following the wishes of the States Parties.

The 11th review conference of the NPT, considered a cornerstone of non-proliferation efforts, concluded without a consensus. The conference president, Do Hung Viet of Vietnam, expressed deep disappointment after four revised drafts of a final declaration were met with dissatisfaction from member states. He noted that while delegations share the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons, they differ on the methods to achieve it.

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Despite all our efforts, I understand that the conference is not able to reach an agreement on its substantive work.

Seth Shelden of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN) criticized nuclear-armed states and their allies, accusing them of undermining the NPT, hindering disarmament efforts, and increasing their arsenals. This comes as the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (Sipri) reported that the nine nuclear-armed states possessed 12,241 nuclear warheads as of January 2025, with the vast majority held by the United States and Russia.

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The delegations share the objective of a world without nuclear weapons, a world in which the nuclear threat does not hang over our heads and those of our children, even if we differ on the path to achieve this objective.

Despite the revised and diluted text presented, deep divisions remain. The failure to agree on a path forward raises concerns about the treaty's effectiveness in preventing nuclear proliferation and promoting disarmament in an era of heightened geopolitical tensions.

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If we cannot agree on the path to take, we will never reach our destination.