Amid escalating global tensions and heightened concerns over nuclear threats and risks of use, diplomats have gathered in New York for the First Committee on Disarmament and International Security of the UN General Assembly, with many states and leaders identifying the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) as a path forward.
With First Committee taking place only days after the newly adopted Pact for the Future’s recommitment to disarmament and a nuclear-weapons free future, and amid heightened global tensions that increase the risk of nuclear weapons use, many speakers highlighted the importance of cooperation, multilateralism and real action for nuclear disarmament during the General Debate.
Philemon Yang, President of the 79th session of the United Nations General Assembly, said: “We need concrete measures to prevent nuclear war or any use of nuclear war. The nuclear weapons states must take the lead including in upholding their commitments under NPT. A nuclear war cannot be won and should never be fought. I call on those who have not yet acceded to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to do so without delay”
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High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu stressed the current risk, listing nuclear posturing among “the challenges facing international peace and security.” Yet she stressed the path forward through diplomacy and international law. “In spite of this, I am heartened that the vast majority of States are actively seeking progress on a world free of nuclear weapons”, citing the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) as a part of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation architecture that states are advancing.
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Indonesia, the fourth most populated country in the world and one of the most recent states to join the TPNW, celebrated this treaty action outright: "For Indonesia, our commitment to realizing a nuclear-weapon free world is reaffirmed through our ratification of the TPNW. We call on all countries to follow suit."
What to expect from this First Committee
The UN General Assembly First Committee General Debate provides an important opportunity for states to engage in disarmament and international security.
This year’s First Committee is chaired by Ambassador Maritza Chan-Valverde, an expert in international peace and security matters, a champion of the Women, Peace and Security agenda and feminist activist, and a long-time supporter of the TPNW. Ambassador Chan is the second woman to ever Chair the First Committee—and the first woman Permanent Representative to do so.
Since 1945, no female Permanent Representative has presided over the First Committee—until now. I honor Amb. Mona Juul, who led 1C in 2006 as DPR. Only 2 🚺 have held this position in 79 yrs. With just 1/3 of participants in disarmament talks being women, this is a call to action pic.twitter.com/1PabWX2Xc8
— Maritza Chan (@MaritzaChanV) October 8, 2024
New to this year’s First Committee is a report by the UN Secretary General on views of member states on addressing nuclear legacies: providing victim assistance and environmental remediation to member states affected by the use or testing of nuclear weapons. The report, mandated by UN General Assembly resolution 78/240, adopted last year, summarises the views of fifteen governments that submitted inputs and provides observations and views of the Secretary-General in response, including to note the efforts underway by TPNW states parties to coordinate international victim assistance efforts, and the benefits of the proposed voluntary international trust fund in that regard.
UN member states will also have the opportunity this year to establish an independent scientific panel on the effects of nuclear war, through the adoption of a new First Committee resolution. The panel would examine 21st century science on the climactic, environmental, radiological, and physical effects of nuclear war, and publish a comprehensive report, including areas requiring future research. The last UN study on this topic was published in the 1980s.
ICAN is active at the meetings, encouraging states to highlight in their statements the rising nuclear risk, condemn the renewed nuclear arms race and increasing nuclear rhetoric, and express support for real action on nuclear disarmament through the TPNW. ICAN and its campaigners are also promoting the universalisation of the TPNW and encouraging states to support resolutions related to the risks and humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons and the TPNW.
Representatives of civil society were also invited to share their statements to the general debate on October 16. ICAN’s statement highlighted the call by Nihon Hidankyo, the group of Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors who were awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize while first committee was in session, to work together to eliminate nuclear weapons, and challenged every member state to consider what more you can do to fulfil the promises made under the pact for the future.
In addition, ICAN has been holding a series of events on the sidelines, including a briefing with the African Group, in collaboration with the Permanent Mission of South Africa and the ICRC, to share recent developments regarding the universalization and implementation of the TPNW, including the recent Regional Conference on the TPNW held in Addis Ababa.
Dates, update and practical informationThe general debate is scheduled to take place from 7-16 October, while thematic debate should take place from 18-29 October. States are currently scheduled to vote on all draft resolutions from 1 -8 November. See Reaching Critical Will’s Calendar (RCW) and UNODA’s side event calendar for more details For regular updates from First Committee, subscribe to Reaching Critical Will’s First Committee Monitor. |