UN Warns Resumption of Nuclear Tests Could Fuel New Arms Race
The United Nations has warned of the risks of resuming nuclear weapons tests, saying such a move could undermine decades of efforts to reduce tensions and pave the way for a new arms race.
Izumi Nakamitsu, head of the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs, said rising geopolitical tensions, widening divisions and declining trust between countries have increased concerns about a return to nuclear testing.
She stressed that even raising the possibility of such a path is dangerous, and that resuming these tests could undo the process of containing nuclear tensions that has been pursued over the past several decades.
According to the Associated Press, at the end of last year the United States and Russia, which possess the world’s largest nuclear arsenals, threatened each other with resuming nuclear tests.
Nakamitsu made the remarks on the 30th anniversary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. While praising the treaty’s global verification system, she noted that the agreement has still not entered into force.
The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was designed to prevent any explosive nuclear test, but despite three decades having passed since it was drafted, it has still not been fully implemented.
