Archb. Chullikatt calls for all weapons to be silenced
(Vatican Radio) Archbishop Francis Chullikatt, the Apostolic Nuncio and Permanent
Observer of the Holy See to the UN, has called for general and complete disarmament.
Speaking
a the First Committee of the 68th session of the General Assembly, Chullikatt
said that this moment in history offers a moment of opportunity to rid the world of
chemical and nuclear weapons.
Please find below the full text of Archbishop
Chullikatt's intervention.
Mr Chairman, The First Committee meets
this year at a moment of extraordinary opportunity. In the past few weeks, we have
seen vivid action taken in the long struggle to rid the world of chemical and nuclear
weapons.
The recent UN Security Council’s unanimous resolution on Syria’s
chemical weapons has historic importance. However, in that regard the Secretary General
noted: “a red light for one form of weapons did not mean a green light for others”.
He therefore called for a complete stop to all violence and for all weapons to be
silenced.
Another hopeful opportunity that has presented itself is the day-long
unprecedented High-level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament in the General Assembly on
September 26. From nearly every corner of the world -- Europe, Africa, Asia, Latin
America – Heads of State and Government and other high officials called for action
to begin comprehensive negotiations to ban all nuclear weapons. It was impressive
to see such an outcry of concern at what is aptly called the “catastrophic humanitarian
consequences” of the use of nuclear weapons.
The willingness of the world
as a whole to move forward in a constructive manner to eliminate nuclear weapons has
never been more evident. Yet a very small number of States stand in the way, trying
to block progress and to find a comprehensive solution to the problem that goes on
year after year in paralysis and obfuscation.
It was clear at the High-level
Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament that States around the world want to see the implementation
of the 2010 decision of the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference to convene
a meeting to develop a zone free of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction
in the Middle East.
The progress made in the Syrian conflict and the prospect
of a political solution on the horizon set the stage for the holding of the Middle
East conference. This process dates back to 1995 when the NPT Review and Extension
Conference adopted a resolution to address all weapons of mass destruction in the
Middle East. The failure of the international community to fulfill that promise has
jeopardized the credibility of the NPT and the future of that region. With the 2015
NPT Review Conference quickly approaching, it is imperative that steps be taken to
set a firm date for the holding of the conference.
It is sadly ironic that
States vociferous in their condemnation of chemical weapons are silent on the continued
possession of nuclear weapons. The international community must appeal and act with
one voice to ban all weapons of mass destruction.
The prospects for the
cooperation of all States on a new agenda for peace have suddenly taken an upturn.
This work requires the continued advocacy and cooperation of all. A better world
awaits us if we reduce the excessively high military spending and if we set aside
part of military expenditures for a world fund to relieve the needs of developing
and least developed nations. This committee, dedicated to reducing armaments worldwide
must always be conscious of the true needs for achieving sustainable international
peace and security. We must end myopic militarism and concentrate on the long-range
needs of the human family.
Mr Chairman,
As the Holy See stated
at the recent High-level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament, “[I]t is time to counter
the logic of fear with the ethic of responsibility, fostering a climate of trust and
sincere dialogue, capable of promoting a culture of peace, founded on the primacy
of law and the common good, through a coherent and responsible cooperation between
all members of the international community.”
Our world has never been
so interdependent and interconnected; now more than ever we cannot risk falling into
a “globalization of indifference”.
It is illusory to think that the security
and peace of some can be assured without the security and peace of others. In an age
like ours which is undergoing profound social and geopolitical shifts, awareness has
been growing that national security interests are deeply linked to those related to
international security, just as the human family moves gradually together and everywhere
is becoming more conscious of its unity and interdependency.
Peace, security
and stability cannot be gained strictly by military means, nor by increasing military
spending, since these are multidimensional objectives which include aspects that are
not linked only to the political and military sphere, but also to those of human rights,
the rule of law, economic and social conditions, and the protection of the environment.
These are things which have as their principal purpose the promotion of a true, integral
human development, where wisdom, reason and the force of law must prevail over violence,
aggression and the law of force.
Peace is an edifice in continual construction
which lays its foundations not so much in force as in trust, confidence-building,
on respect for obligations assumed and on dialogue. Without these fundamental elements
one places at risk not solely peace, but also the very existence of the human family.
The field of disarmament and arms control constantly demands the use of our wisdom
and good will.