TOKYO: NAKAMITSU Izumi,  UN undersecretary-general and high representative for disarmament affairs, on Friday voiced hope that an upcoming review conference of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty will lead to nuclear disarmament.

Nakamitsu told a virtual press conference at the Japan National Press Club in Tokyo that she wants the event, set to start in New York next week, to “serve as the first step to reduce risk, confirm the non-use of nuclear arms and return to disarmament.”

“The risk involving nuclear arms is as high as that at the height of the Cold War,” she said.

She stressed the need for the NPT conference to create a balanced agreement featuring the treaty’s three pillars of nuclear disarmament, nonproliferation and peaceful use of nuclear power, while admitting that this would be “very tough.”

Nakamitsu called for an agreement on specific measures to reduce risks, including improved transparency on nuclear arms possession.

There are concerns that the NPT conference will not be able to release a final outcome document again following the previous meeting in 2015.

The NPT is a “treaty that is signed by many countries, is universal and has served as a security linchpin for over 50 years,” Nakamitsu said. “It’s unlikely that the treaty will become a mere facade and lose people’s attention anytime soon.”

JIJI Press