Nuclear weapons must be used to prevent war; UN Security Council

United Nations – ‘Our responsibilities are to avoid war between nuclear-armed countries and reduce strategic threats. Nuclear war can never be won and it should never be fought. The use of nuclear weapons can have very far-reaching consequences. Therefore, they should be used only to meet defensive goals. Its purpose should be to prevent potential aggression and to prevent war. The increase in the number of nuclear weapons should also be stopped,’ the five permanent members of the UN Security Council announced. These permanent members include the United States, Russia, China, Britain and France.

A report released by Swedish study group SIPRI six months ago revealed an increase in the number of nuclear weapons deployed by nine nuclear-armed countries around the world. According to the report, the number of nuclear weapons deployed worldwide has risen to 3,825 in early 2021. Last year the number was 3,270. The SIPRI report says that the United States and Russia have kept nearly 2,000 of these in a ‘High Operational Alert’ condition. At the same time, China is rapidly increasing its nuclear stockpile and is in the process of modernizing it, according to a SIPRI report.

Against this background, the joint statement issued by the five nuclear-armed permanent members of the UN Security Council, at the beginning of the year, regarding stopping nuclear wars and nuclear proliferation becomes significant. The statement cited the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and said all five nuclear-weapon states were committed to its implementation. The statement also said that the five nuclear-armed states would not hold nuclear weapons against each other or against any other country. The joint statement also said that policy matters would be discussed, keeping each other’s security interests and concerns in view and respecting each other.

Russia has reacted independently to the statement issued by the permanent members, claiming that it would help reduce global tensions. Whereas, France has said in its statement that the commitment of the permanent members towards nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament is reflected in the joint statement.