“The risk of a nuclear weapon being used is higher now than any time since the height of the cold war and the architecture designed to prevent its use is ever more precarious,” said High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu at the opening of the 2024 annual session of the United Nations’ Disarmament Commission, according to the UN’s meetings coverage.
“The Disarmament Commission has the solemn responsibility to deliberate on topical issues related to disarmament and recommend measures,” said Commission Chair Muhammad Usman Iqbal Jadoon, Deputy Permanent Representative of Pakistan.
“The present state of world affairs marked by increasing polarization and mistrust requires greater reliance on multilateralism and calls for investing more effort in dialogue.”
The Disarmament Commission (UNDC) is a specialized subsidiary body under the UN General Assembly. It was first established in 1952, but only met a few times. In 1978, the second iteration of the commission was formed at the first special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament.
The UNDC includes all member states, as well as observers such as the European Union, and meets annually in the spring, for three weeks.
According to the UN, about 12,500 nuclear weapons still exist in the world today.
According to The International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), a coalition of non-governmental organizations in 100 countries promoting adherence to and implementation of the United Nations Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, nine countries have nuclear weapons: Russia, the US, China, France, UK, Pakistan, India, Israel, and North Korea in order of amount of warheads possessed.