Vietnam calls for total elimination of nuclear weapons

The UN General Assembly held a high level meeting on September 26 to discuss nuclear disarmament and to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.

The event featured the participation of UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres, many high-ranking representatives of member countries, observers, and several non-governmental organisations.

As part of his address, the UN chief said that global disarmament and counter-proliferation architecture is currently being eroded due to the risk of arms race and nuclear weapon modernisation.

The UN Secretary General therefore called for continued strengthening of the disarmament and non-proliferation mechanism, whilst countries possessing nuclear weapons should pledge not to use nuclear weapons under any circumstances. Dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiation are therefore constant tools that help to ease tensions and the end nuclear threat once and for all.

Ambassador Giang underlined the need to strengthen disarmament, arms control, and anti-proliferation mechanisms globally.

Countries must fully perform relevant obligations, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), adding that in order to build trust and friendly relations, countries must strive to strengthen dialogue and discussion, instead of the nuclear deterrence doctrine.

As part of the occasion, Ambassador Giang reaffirmed the country’s consistent policy on anti-proliferation and nuclear disarmament which aims to completely abolish nuclear weapons, whilst stay committed to maintaining the Southeast Asian region as a place without nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

The diplomat welcomed nuclear-weapon states for their signing and ratification without reservations to the Protocol to the Treaty of Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ).

The General Assembly commemorates 26 September as the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons. This special day provides an occasion for the global community to reaffirm its commitment to global nuclear disarmament as a priority.

The purpose of the International Day is to further the objective of the total elimination of nuclear weapons through enhancing public awareness and education about the threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons and the necessity for their total elimination. In so doing, it is hoped that these activities will help to mobilize fresh international efforts towards achieving the common goal of a world free of a nuclear weapons.