Signatories to the historic nuclear non-proliferation treaty began meeting on Monday at the United Nations in New York amid fears of a resurgence of the nuclear arms race, as the atomic powers once again clashed over safeguards.
In 2022, during the last review of the treaty considered the basis of non-proliferation, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned humanity is “one misunderstanding, one miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation”.
On Monday he warned the “drivers” of nuclear proliferation were accelerating.
“For too long, the treaty has been eroding. Promises have not yet been fulfilled. Trust and trust are waning. The triggers for proliferation are increasing. We need to breathe life into the treaty once again,” Guterres said in his opening speech.
With international geopolitical tension only increasing since the last meeting, it was unclear what the meeting at the UN headquarters could achieve.
French Foreign Minister Jean-Noel Barrot told the signatories that “never has the risk of nuclear proliferation been so great and the threat of Iran’s and North Korea’s plans is intolerable for every country involved in this treaty”.
