NUCLEAR WEAPONS: A PATH TO DESTRUCTION, WARNS UN SECRETARY-GENERAL

GS3 INTERNAL SECURITY: 

The UN Secretary-General has cautioned that nuclear weapons lead to a “one-way road to annihilation,” a statement made as the Doomsday Clock moved one second closer to midnight last month. Introduced in 1947 by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists, the Doomsday Clock symbolizes humanity’s proximity to self-destruction.

Current Nuclear Risks

• Rising Global Tensions: Geopolitical strife, declining trust, and increased military spending heighten nuclear conflict risks.
• Weakening Disarmament Efforts: Major treaties and norms against nuclear testing and proliferation are losing ground.
• Nuclear Coercion: Threats of nuclear use to pressure adversaries destabilize the world.
• Growing Arsenals: Nations are expanding nuclear stockpiles, sparking new arms races, including in outer space.
• AI Weaponization: Artificial intelligence in weapons systems could diminish human oversight, increasing accidental launch risks.

Non-Proliferation Initiatives

• Conference on Disarmament: Focuses on nuclear disarmament, preventing space-based arms races, and tackling new mass destruction weapons.
• Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT): Aims to curb nuclear weapon spread and promote peaceful nuclear energy use.
• Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT): Prohibits all nuclear explosions, military or civilian.
• International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA): Leads global cooperation on peaceful nuclear energy.