Disarmament

The Russian Federation’s recent announcement of plans to station non-strategic nuclear weapons in Belarus represents the first “nuclear sharing” agreement made since the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons entered into force in 1970, the senior United Nations disarmament official told the Security Council today, emphasizing that — against the backdrop of the Ukraine conflict — the risk such arms will be used is higher today than at any time since the end of the cold war.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message for the International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action, observed on 4 April:

The Security Council today decided to extend the mandate of the expert panel assisting the committee overseeing its sanctions against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea until 30 April 2024.

Full implementation of the Security Council resolution obligating States to prevent the proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons remains a long-term task, the Chair of the Committee established pursuant to that text told the 15-nation organ today, as members spotlighted emerging issues that the Committee will need to address over the next 10 years of its mandate.

​​​​​​​While urging one another to end their five-year impasse and unite to counter the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s repeated launchings of ballistic missiles, Security Council members argued over the best approach to accomplish that, as a senior United Nations official briefed the 15-nation organ on Pyongyang’s latest round of projectiles.

The following statement was issued today by the Spokesman for UN Secretary-General António Guterres:

Following the two cyclones that hit Vanuatu in March, the United Nations resident coordinator has met with Government ministers, the Disaster Management Office and Organization staff to understand challenges, needs and ways the United Nations can further support recovery.

Syria’s full cooperation with the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) is essential to closing all outstanding issues related to its initial and subsequent declarations, a senior United Nations official told the Security Council today during its monthly briefing on implementation of resolution 2118 (2013) on elimination of the country’s chemical weapons programme, highlighting that long-standing identified gaps, inconsistencies, and discrepancies remain unresolved.

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, through the Resident Coordinator in Fiji, offered support to Vanuatu amid a state of emergency sparked by Tropical Cyclone Judy. A second storm system is now bearing down on the country, and may impact 95 per cent of the population.

Following is UN Secretary-General António Guterres’ message to for the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness, observed on 5 March: