Secretary Locsin Reaffirms Commitment to the Nuclear Ban Treaty Amid Pandemic

Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. reaffirms the Philippines' commitment to the Nuclear Weapon Ban Treaty.

NEW YORK 09 October 2020, New York – Foreign Affairs Secretary Teodoro L. Locsin, Jr. reaffirmed the commitment of the Philippines to the Nuclear Ban Treaty during the High-Level Plenary Meeting of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 02 October 2020.

In his pre-recorded statement, Secretary Locsin said the Philippines was among the first to sign the Treaty, and will adhere to the universalization of global norms against nuclear weapons.”

“We face a pandemic that has millions dying and whose end is nowhere in sight. And there is still the looming existential threat of a nuclear war promising human extinction in toto or in very large swaths.”

Secretary Locsin quoted President Rodrigo R. Duterte, who stated in his first address to the UN General Assembly: “No aspiration nor ambition can justify the use of weapons that destroy indiscriminately and completely… These weapons of death put us all at mortal risk, especially if they fall in the hands of terrorists without a shred of humanity in their souls.” President Duterte also stated that he has asked the Philippine Senate to ratify the Nuclear Ban Treaty at the earliest opportunity.

The General Assembly declared the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons in December 2013 in resolution A/RES/68/32, as a follow-up to the high-level meeting of the General Assembly on nuclear disarmament held on 26 September 2013. The resolution, among others, calls for the “urgent commencement of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament for the early conclusion of a comprehensive convention on nuclear weapons to prohibit their possession, development, production, acquisition, testing, stockpiling, transfer and use or threat of use, and to provide for their destruction.”

The high-level meeting aimed to raise awareness about the threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons and the necessity for their total elimination in order to mobilize international efforts towards achieving the common goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.

The video may be viewed on the following link: https://youtu.be/GNm--6OfC_0 while the full statement may be read on: https://www.un.int/.../international-day-total...

For more information, visit https://www.newyorkpm.dfa.gov.ph, https://www.un.int/philippines or https://www.facebook.com/PHMissionNY/.