Speakers urge action as nuclear review conference enters second day at UN

(May 05, 2010) The review conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entered its second day on Tuesday at United Nations Headquarters , with speakers taking up issues ranging from the Middle East, Iran and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, to practical measures towards disarmament and peaceful uses of nuclear technology.
Nearly 40 speakers addressed the five-yearly NPT review on Tuesday, a day after Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon told the gathering, that the world is looking at the participants to take decisive steps to build a safer world for everyone. Many speakers during Tuesday’s session urged action on several fronts, such as making the Middle East free of nuclear weapons and finding peaceful applications for nuclear energy and technology.
In a speech on Tuesday in New York to the Mayors for Peace, a grouping of officials from 3,880 cities in 143 countries, Ban reiterated his calls for non-proliferation efforts and disarmament. “We reduce the risk of nuclear weapons to zero by reducing the number of nuclear weapons to zero,” said the Secretary-General, adding that the UN should be the new “ground zero” for nuclear disarmament.