Holy See's Address on Nuclear Disarmament

[The Straight Story]

Holy See's Address on Nuclear Disarmament

The Time Has Passed "for Finding Ways to a 'Balance in Terror'"

NEW YORK, MAY 5, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Here is the statement that Archbishop Celestino Migliore, permanent observer of the Holy See to the United Nations, delivered to the 7th Review Conference of the States Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). He delivered it Wednesday.

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Mr. President,

The Holy See adhered to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons on 25 February 1971, convinced that it was an important step forward in the creation of a system of general and complete disarmament under effective international control, something that would be possible only if it were completely observed both in detail and in its entirety.

After 35 years, the treaty has become a cornerstone in the global security framework since it has, to some extent, helped slow the arms race. The fact that it has received an extremely high number of adhesions, with 188 states-parties, shows the importance it has for the international community. This is so by means of three pillars: preventing the spread and proliferation of nuclear arms, promoting cooperation in the peaceful use of nuclear energy, and pursuing the objective of nuclear disarmament which implicitly leads to general and complete disarmament. In essence, the NPT promised a world in which nuclear weapons would be eliminated and technological cooperation for development would be widespread.

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