On Monday 6 September, NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg called for the preservation of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), “the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament architecture”.
“NATO Allies remain strongly committed to its full implementation and to a meaningful outcome at the upcoming Tenth Review Conference”, he stressed at the NATO Arms Control, Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Conference.
According to the Secretary General, this conference will be a major opportunity for the international community to strengthen the NPT, adding that this opportunity must be seized.
Recalling that the Alliance’s goal was a world free of nuclear weapons, Mr Stoltenberg said that any meaningful disarmament had to be “balanced and verifiable”. Three allies have nuclear weapons: the United States, the United Kingdom and France. China, Russia, Pakistan, India, North Korea and Israel also have them.
The Secretary General also called for the strengthening and modernisation of arms control. In his view, more systems should be included in future arms control, for example to cover non-strategic weapons.
“We should also address the impact on arms control of emerging and disruptive technologies such as autonomous platforms and artificial intelligence”, which can be weaponised, Mr Stoltenberg added. He also hoped that more countries would be included in future arms control, particularly China.
Finally, according to Mr Stoltenberg, it is necessary to continue to respond collectively when treaties are violated. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)