«The only reliable way to eliminate the threat posed by nuclear weapons, — is to eliminate the weapons themselves».
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
On September 26, the world celebrates the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. It is one of the international days in the United Nations system and was established in December 2013 by a corresponding UN General Assembly resolution (№ A/RES/68/32).
The main goal of setting this date is to draw the attention of the world community to the need for global nuclear disarmament and inform the public about the benefits of eliminating nuclear weapons. After all, one of the main tasks of humanity is to achieve peace and security on a planet without nuclear weapons.
The complete elimination of nuclear weapons in all countries of the world is one of the main and oldest goals in the activities of the UN. It became the subject of the first General Assembly resolution in 1946, in which it was first voiced and legally enshrined. In subsequent years, this topic was repeatedly included in the agendas and meeting plans (1959, 1975), and was also identified as one of the priorities of the first special session of the General Assembly on disarmament in 1978, which paid special attention to the problem of nuclear disarmament. In addition, this goal was approved and supported by each of the UN Secretaries General.
As a result, several Treaties on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons were signed over the years. However, despite all the efforts of the UN, and despite the adoption of bilateral and multilateral treaties, not a single unit of nuclear weapons has been physically destroyed in the world, and in the arsenals of various countries of the world there are a total of about 13,000 nuclear weapons. Today, more than half of the population of planet Earth lives in countries that have nuclear weapons or are part of nuclear alliances.
It is therefore not surprising that every year there is growing global concern about the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of using even one nuclear weapon, not to mention a regional or global nuclear war. However, no negotiations on nuclear disarmament are currently underway anywhere. And countries with such weapons have also developed long-term plans to modernize their nuclear arsenals. Therefore, the problem of nuclear disarmament in our time is very acute and is a priority.
8th UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, on the occasion of the International Day for the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons in 2015, recalling the 70th anniversary of the terrible date – of the first and last use of nuclear weapons during the war, also expressed regret that today there are increasing differences between member states over ways and timing to achieve the goal of freeing the world from nuclear weapons.
He called on all states to take a constructive approach and find ways to move forward. In addition, according to the head of the UN, the elimination of nuclear weapons will free up enormous resources that can be used to implement the sustainable development agenda for the period until 2030.
After all, the use of nuclear weapons somewhere in one place in the world will lead to disaster throughout the planet. To avoid such consequences, it is necessary to eliminate it, including other weapons of mass destruction. The only absolute guarantee that nuclear weapons will never be used is their complete elimination.
Taking into account all the indicated facts and the current situation, the UN decided to officially establish this date as the – Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons in order to once again remind participating states of the priority task in foreign policy activities, the advantages of disarmament and the costs in social and economic terms. And, of course, to once again call for the destruction and limitation of nuclear weapons, in one way or another to minimize their role and participation in the foreign policy of the state.
Today, the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons is celebrated by all countries interested in this goal and their populations. Traditionally, for this day, various – flash mob events, demonstrations of short films and the distribution of propaganda materials on the topic of disarmament and against nuclear weapons are held in a number of countries. After all, it is this Day that will allow the world community to reaffirm its commitment to global nuclear disarmament as a top priority.
Postcard «September 26 — International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons»