Nuke powers are urged to abide by the no-first-use pledge by UN chief

Photo Source: By U.S. Mission Photo by Eric Bridiers

Antonio Guterres, UN secretary-general, warned that the nuclear arms race has returned amid growing international tensions, urging countries with nuclear weapons to stick to their no-first-use commitment.

Guterres said at a news conference in Tokyo two days after visiting Hiroshima to commemorate the victims of the Aug. 6, 1945, atomic bomb. “Now is the time to call on nuclear-armed countries to adhere to the non-first-use principle and not use or threaten non-nuclear countries,” he said.

“I think that nobody, nobody can accept the idea that a new nuclear war would happen. This will be the destruction of the planet,” Guterres said. “What is clear is if nobody uses for the first time then there will be no nuclear war.”

Zaporizhzhia, which holds Europe's largest nuclear plant, was shelled by Moscow on Thursday. A nuclear plant attack is suicidal, Guterres said in response to a question about the attack.

He said he fully supports the International Atomic Energy Agency in their effort to stabilize the plant and have access to the facility to exercise its mandate.

9 August 2022