Ambassador Đỗ Hùng Việt, Việt Nam's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, addressed a UN General Assembly meeting on the occasion of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (September 26). — VNA/VNS Photo

NEW YORK — States with nuclear weapons should keep communication open to lower nuclear risks, boost transparency and accountability, and honour their pledges toward the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, said Ambassador Đỗ Hùng Việt, Việt Nam's Permanent Representative to the United Nations at a high-level General Assembly meeting on Tuesday (local time).

The event marked and promoted the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (September 26). UN Secretary-General António Guterres, President of the 81st session of the UN General Assembly, presided over the meeting, with representatives of numerous member states, regional organisations and non-governmental organisations in attendance.

The Vietnamese ambassador voiced concern over declining commitments to nuclear disarmament, the expansion of nuclear arsenals in both quantity and capacity, and growing reliance on nuclear deterrence in security strategies.

Building on efforts at the 11th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Ambassador Việt underscored the need to uphold international law and strengthen multilateral frameworks for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, particularly the NPT, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

He also called on nuclear-weapon states to sign and ratify the Protocol to the Treaty on the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ), affirming that Việt Nam will continue to make active contributions to international efforts to promote nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, strengthen multilateralism and international law, and work towards a world free of nuclear weapons.

In his remarks at the meeting, UN Secretary-General Guterres warned that eighty-one years after Hiroshima and Nagasaki, nuclear weapons continue to cast a shadow over humanity. Nuclear arsenals are being expanded and modernised, and advances in technology are increasing the odds of mistake and miscalculation, he said

The UN chief called on nuclear-weapon states to return to dialogue, reduce the role of nuclear weapons in their security policies, advance the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty, and step up efforts towards the complete elimination of nuclear weapons.

At the meeting, countries stressed the need to promote concrete, verifiable and irreversible measures towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

Countries of the Non-Aligned Movement affirmed that the complete elimination of nuclear weapons is the only absolute guarantee against the threat or use of such weapons, while calling on states with nuclear weapons to fully fulfil their obligations under Article VI of the NPT, enhance transparency and responsibly implement nuclear disarmament measures according to a concrete roadmap.

The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, observed on September 26, was established under UN General Assembly Resolution 68/32 in 2013. It aims to raise global awareness of the risks and consequences of nuclear weapons testing and use to the environment and humanity, while reaffirming the international community's shared determination to advance comprehensive nuclear disarmament. — VNA/VNS