United Nations, CMC: President of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA), Dennis Francis, Monday mourned the “countless innocent lives of women and children” lost in the Middle East as Israel and the terrorist group Hamas battle each other for control of Palestine.
“We mourn each of them. Worries about the escalation of nuclear programs amplify the ongoing hostilities, stark reminders that the real threat of nuclear annihilation, which cannot be dismissed as farfetched from the bygone era,” said the Trinidad and Tobago-born diplomat.
Banishment of a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East.
“Yet, the ardent hope for a safer future has not been lost to the sands of time,” he said, noting that recently, the First Committee on Disarmament and International Security “reaffirmed its steadfast support for the establishment of this zone, calling for urgent and practical steps to implement this recommendation.
“This level of international support for any one issue, let alone global disarmament, is one of the unique and exceptional intergovernmental occurrences in advancing our collective security.”
Francis said that most member states agree that keeping the region free of the most destructive weapons ever created by humanity is an essential precursor to peace and stability in the Middle East.
“Indeed, there can be no lasting peace without also comprehensively addressing the issue of nuclear weapons,” he said, adding that “this hopeful eye to the future is set against the dark veil of unbearable suffering that has descended upon the Middle East with crushing weight over the last month.”
The Trinidad and Tobago permanent representative to the United Nations said the perennially unresolved issue of developing and stockpiling nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction places yet another burden on an already fraught political and security environment.
“Hence, the message of the General Assembly is unequivocal and forthright: nuclear weapons pose an existential threat to all of humanity. Therefore, we all have a responsibility to end the dangerous political standoff preventing progress on disarmament.
“Our footsteps will one day fade from this planet. We owe it to the generations who will follow to embark today on a path of sustainable peace in the Middle East,” The UNGA President said, adding, “I, therefore, call on all actors to cooperate urgently and fully with the IAEA ( International Atomic Energy Agency), and to diligently ensure that transparency measures are in place for any nuclear programs.”
He said this and absolute adherence to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty as the linchpin of nuclear disarmament will go a long way to rebuilding trust.
“I urge all parties to declare support for a nuclear-free zone and avoid any action that obstructs the goal of complete and total nuclear disarmament. Above all, I call for restraint.
“It is incumbent upon us all to prioritize the sanctity of human life and uphold international law, including international humanitarian law,” Francis said, adding, “all actors in the region must return to dialogue and the diplomatic path in good faith.”
Francis said that the potential for unity and solidarity resides among the delegates attending the conference, saying, “Imagine the Middle East joining the five other regions that have banned the testing, stationing, development, and use of nuclear weapons inside their territories, bringing us one giant step closer to a genuinely global zone of peace from Latin America and the Caribbean to the South Pacific, Southeast Asia, Africa, and Central Asia, covering nearly all of the Southern Hemisphere.
“As President of the General Assembly, I stand firmly in support of any initiatives aimed at making progress on this existential issue. Life is not a matter of milestones but rather of moments. Let us seize ours today,” the UNGA President added.
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