Holy See: Eliminating nuclear weapons is an urgent moral imperative

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See&rsquos Permanent Observer to the United Nations, urges the international community to work towards preventing the spread of nuclear weapons, while speaking at the UN&rsquos General Assembly.

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See&rsquos Permanent Observer to the United Nations, has called on the international community to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons and work towards their elimination.

File photo of nuclear arms (Gerasimov)

He made the call in a statement read during the Thematic Discussion, which took place on Tuesday, October 21, during the First Committee of the 80th Session of the UN's General Assembly in New York.

&ldquoThe Holy See affirms its unwavering conviction that efforts to control, limit, reduce, and eventually eliminate nuclear weapons are not an unrealistic prospect, but a possibility and an urgent moral imperative,&rdquo he said.

&ldquoPeace cannot be built on the threat of total destruction or on the illusion that stability can emerge from mutual potential annihilation, as this is both morally indefensible and strategically unsustainable," said the Archbishop.

States should join disarmament treaties

Archbishop Caccia urged all &ldquonuclear-armed States&rdquo to &ldquofulfill their obligations under Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)&rdquo to &ldquonegotiate in good faith with the aim of reducing and ultimately eliminating their stockpiles.&rdquo

The Holy See, he continued, also calls for states to join the NPT and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and &ldquoto advance complementary measures, including the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the negotiating of a treaty on fissile materials, and the strengthening of robust verification and assistance mechanisms.&rdquo

Dangers of artificial intelligence

The Holy See&rsquos Permanent Observer pointed out that, today, there is &ldquoan alarming resurgence in rhetoric threatening the use of nuclear weapons,&rdquo along with &ldquorenewed efforts to expand arsenals,&rdquo justified &ldquoby the flawed logic of deterrence,&rdquo which instead promotes fear and further destabilizes international security.&rdquo

He underscored as especially concerning &ldquothe integration of artificial intelligence, autonomous systems, and cyber technologies into nuclear command, control, and deployment systems.&rdquo

These technologies, he said, &ldquoshorten decision-making windows, reduce human oversight, and increase the risk of miscalculation and error,&rdquo producing uncertainty and requiring &ldquosustained attention&rdquo from the international community.

Resources devoted to armaments are a moral defeat

Archbishop Caccia highlighted how still today&mdash80 years after the attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki&mdashnuclear weapons continue &ldquoto pose one of the greatest threats to international peace and security.&rdquo

He insisted that the &ldquosuffering and destruction&rdquo that resulted from these events are &ldquoa sobering and enduring reminder of the catastrophic potential of these weapons&rdquo and of the &ldquoshared responsibility to prevent such tragedies from happening again.&rdquo

&ldquoThe enormous resources devoted to armaments, while so many continue to suffer, constitute a profound moral defeat,&rdquo he said, adding that true security requires &ldquoprotecting life, promoting justice, and fostering peace.&rdquo

He urged the international community to &ldquocommit to a human-centered vision of security, grounded in dialogue, fraternity, and respect for the inherent God-given dignity of every person.&rdquo

Isabella H. de Carvalho
Source: vaticannews.va/en