[ A legally binding prohibition on nuclear tests is a fundamental
step in our quest for a world free of nuclear weapons," said United
Nations Secretary-General António Guterres.]
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MIXTURE OF NUCLEAR MODERNIZATION AND RISING GLOBAL MISTRUST IS
‘RECIPE FOR ANNIHILATION’: UN CHIEF  
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Jake Johnson
August 30, 2023
Common Dreams
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_ A legally binding prohibition on nuclear tests is a fundamental
step in our quest for a world free of nuclear weapons," said United
Nations Secretary-General António Guterres. _

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Photo: Manuel
Elias

 

The head of the United Nations marked the International Day Against
Nuclear Tests on Tuesday by warning that the combination of surging
distrust worldwide and accelerating nuclear modernization efforts is
"a recipe for annihilation."

"This year, we face an alarming rise in global mistrust and
division," said
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Secretary-General António Guterres, who noted that there are
currently close to 13,000 nuclear weapons stockpiled across the globe.
The United States and Russia control around 90% of the global nuclear
arsenal.

"Countries are working to improve their accuracy, reach, and
destructive power," Guterres added. "A legally binding prohibition on
nuclear tests is a fundamental step in our quest for a world free of
nuclear weapons. The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, though not
yet in force, remains a powerful testament to humanity's will to lift
the shadow of nuclear annihilation from our world, once and for all."

Guterres urged all nations that have not ratified the treaty to do so
"immediately, without conditions."

The U.S. is one of a handful of nations that have yet to ratify
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Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty
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prohibits all nuclear explosions. As Guterres noted Tuesday, "more
than 2,000 nuclear tests have inflicted terrifying suffering on
people, poisoned the air we breathe, and ravaged landscapes around the
world" since 1945, the year the U.S. dropped nuclear bombs on
Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control
Association, wrote
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that "the Biden administration has done none of the outreach and
education that will be necessary to secure treaty ratification by the
Senate."

"Given that the United States has not conducted a nuclear test in more
than 30 years and has no technical, military, or political reason to
resume testing, the national security case for ratification and for
strengthening the barriers against testing by others is even stronger
than when the treaty was last considered by the Senate in 1999,"
Kimball added.

Meanwhile, the administration is moving ahead with nuclear
modernization initiatives that critics have decried
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"wasteful and dangerous." The Congressional Budget Office estimates
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nuclear forces will cost the nation $756 billion over the next decade.

Last week, the Pentagon described
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modernization as "a top priority," echoing the Biden
administration's widely criticized
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Posture Review.

_Jake Johnson is a staff writer for Common Dreams._

* nuclear tests
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* annihilation
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* UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres
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