You see that weapons of mass destruction do not make anyone safer
New Zealand Prime Minister: The world is on the brink of a nuclear catastrophe that we must avoid
Russia has warned that nuclear weapons can be deployed in any conflict.
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Jacinda Ardern calls on everyone to be responsible.
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A Russian missile was launched from an unknown location.
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In 1945, nuclear weapons were used in armed conflict for the first and only time.
And 355,000 people were killed in Hiroshima and Nagasaki by two nuclear bombs.
While the world's current arsenal may reach about 13,000 nuclear weapons.
However, the 13,000 weapons in existence worldwide are in many ways progress, as it represents less than a quarter, of the more than 63,000 nuclear weapons, that were in circulation in 1985, during the Cold War.
But what former US President John F. Kennedy said in 1961 at the United Nations is as urgent now as ever: "We must abolish these weapons before they abolish us."
For more than 50 years, since the inception of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, this agreement has played an important role in reducing the dangers of these weapons to the world.
In addition to the nearly 80% reduction in the arsenal of nuclear weapons, the treaty also contributed to limiting the number of countries that possess them.
More countries have ratified the treaty than any other arms control and disarmament treaty.
And now in New York, where the United Nations is based, there is an opportunity to go even further.
We must go further.
Our world is at greater risk of nuclear catastrophe than at any time since the height of the Cold War.
Rising great-power tensions, as well as two decades of faltering progress on nuclear arms control, have brought the threat of such weapons closer to reality.
191 countries meet at the United Nations to renew the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and negotiations are underway.
These talks offer an opportunity to breathe new life into nuclear disarmament at a time when the world needs it more than ever.
miscalculation
Nuclear disaster is not an abstract threat, but a real danger in the world.
Nuclear weapons can be deployed in any conflict, as Russian President Vladimir Putin has hinted, or they can be deployed by miscalculation or error, real possibilities in times of heightened tension.
New Zealand calls on the nuclear-weapon states - the United States, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom - to step back from the nuclear cliff and provide leadership for this endeavour;
By committing to negotiating a new multilateral framework for nuclear disarmament.
New Zealand is one of the safest geographical locations in the world in the event of a nuclear disaster;
So why are we so concerned about this problem?
We are a Pacific nation, and our region bears the scars of decades of nuclear testing on the people, lands and waters of our region.
That's why New Zealand has been proud of being free of nuclear weapons, and an international advocate for a world free of nuclear weapons.
This does not mean that we are naïve about real-world dynamics, nor does our geographical location mean that we have the "luxury of a moral stance."
Indeed, New Zealand's message - that nuclear weapons do not make anyone safer, and have no place in our world - reflects the view of the vast majority of countries.
We just need to believe that a different approach is possible.
Formidable challenges
We just have to look back, in our history, to chart a course toward a safer future.
Lessons from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and experiences in the Pacific, remind us enough that there is absolutely no justification for deploying nuclear weapons.
The challenges of agreeing to multilateral nuclear disarmament may seem enormous.
But reaching an agreement is not a task that can be postponed indefinitely.
Currently, the treaty is under pressure, affected by geopolitical developments, including tension between nuclear states.
But, more fundamentally, there is growing doubt and frustration about the intention of nuclear states to fully implement their nuclear disarmament obligations under the treaty, as they argue that the global security environment makes doing so extremely difficult.
If this continues, there is a real possibility that states will lose confidence in the treaty, threatening the treaty's role in aiding and working towards nuclear disarmament and proliferation.
There is a lot at stake during the United Nations sessions in New York this week.
Some would argue that in the current global environment, a new nuclear arms race is inevitable, and with it further undermining of our efforts in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
But I cannot accept the logic that insecurity and instability make us unable to do something that would help mitigate this insecurity and stability, globally.
An idea that the history of the treaty itself shows is wrong.
There could - as it should - be a different path;
a path of urgent leadership, the recognition that we are on the brink of nuclear disaster, facing us all;
Hence continued progress in our efforts to rid the world of nuclear weapons.
This is not only possible, but necessary.
the most important
Under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, non-nuclear-weapon states have committed not to manufacture or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons, or other nuclear explosive devices, while nuclear-weapon states parties have committed not to assist, encourage or induce any state party to the Treaty It does not possess nuclear weapons in any way to manufacture nuclear weapons or to acquire nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
Nuclear-weapon states parties are defined by the treaty as those that manufactured and detonated a nuclear weapon or other nuclear explosive device prior to January 1967.
There are five nuclear-weapon states parties to the treaty: the United States, Russia, China, France and Britain.
With more than 191 states parties, the NPT is the most important in terms of the number of adherents to nuclear non-proliferation, the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and nuclear disarmament.
• 13,000 nuclear weapons the world's current arsenal.
• Growing great-power tensions, as well as two decades of faltering progress on nuclear arms control, have brought the threat of these weapons closer to reality.
• Lessons from Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and experiences in the Pacific, remind us enough that there is absolutely no justification for deploying nuclear weapons.
Jacinda Ardern Prime Minister of New Zealand
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