WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - With top diplomats gathered at UN Headquarters to review the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the UN Secretary-General warned that it must evolve to survive the age of AI and other new technologies.
For the first time in decades, the number of nuclear warheads is on the rise. Nuclear testing is back on the table and global military spending jumped to $2.7 trillion in 2025.
Addressing the General Assembly, Antonio Guterres said the cornerstone of efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons has been eroding, with commitments unfulfilled and trust and credibility wearing thin. 'We need to breathe life into the Treaty once more,' he declared.
Today's nuclear threat is compounded by new dangers from rapidly evolving technologies such as artificial intelligence and quantum computing, he added.
Reflecting concerns about the growing use of AI in military conflicts, Guterres reiterated the UN view that until nuclear weapons are eliminated, humanity must never cede control over them.
The UN chief's warnings were echoed by the President of the latest NPT Review, Do Hung Viet, the Permanent Representative of Viet Nam, who was elected on Monday.
Viet acknowledged the important role the treaty plays in preventing nuclear weapons use over the past five decades, and that of the review conferences - which, apart from postponements due to the COVID-19 pandemic, have been held every five years - as a 'point of reference for where we stand and where we must go.'
That path is becoming less certain, he said, as military spending reaches new record highs each year and nuclear arsenals grow.
Briefing the media in New York, Viet warned that, whilst the Treaty has helped prevent the spread of nuclear weapons since 1970, its relevance and credibility are now under threat.
'The stakes are very high because the danger of a nuclear war is seen and felt much more concretely these days. A nuclear arms race is looming,' he told reporters.
The Vietnamese diplomat recalled that the two previous Review Conferences failed to reach consensus, and he called on delegates to work constructively to find an agreement this time around.
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