NEW-YORK — The third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) convened at the United Nations headquarters on March 3, with Kazakhstan presiding over the session. The gathering, amid escalating global security concerns, reinforced international commitments to achieving a nuclear-free world.
A view of the Headquarters of the United Nations in New York as seen from the north of the UN site. Photo credit: UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata
Kazakhstan’s call for urgent action
Kazakhstan’s First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Akan Rakhmetullin opened the meeting by stressing the critical need for continued disarmament efforts. He underscored the session’s historical significance, coinciding with the UN’s 80th anniversary and 80 years since the first wartime use of nuclear weapons.
From left to right: Izumi Nakamitsu, Akan Rakhmetullin and Christopher King. Photo credit: Nagima Abuova / The Astana Times
“The continued presence and potential deployment threaten global securities now more than ever. The urgency of our mission is starkly highlighted by the Doomsday Clock, which now stands a bit closer to midnight—an alarming signal of escalating global tensions and the increasing nuclear threat,” said Rakhmetullin.
He noted that rising geopolitical instability, the expansion of nuclear arsenals, and heightened rhetoric surrounding their use present an unprecedented risk. Reflecting on the progress made since the treaty’s entry into force, Rakhmetullin highlighted its role as an effective disarmament mechanism. However, he also stressed the need for sustained efforts to universalize and implement the agreement.
“The abolition of nuclear weapons is not an aspiration, but an imperative,” said Rakhmetullin, citing Kazakhstan’s painful history of enduring more than 450 nuclear tests as the driving force behind its commitment to disarmament.
“It is my hope that state parties can collectively agree on potential practical measures and ways to advise victims assistance and environmental remediation efforts, including the idea of establishment of an international trust fund,” said Rakhmetullin.
“This meeting is not just a reaffirmation of commitments, but a critical opportunity to set in motion policies that will ensure nuclear disarmament becomes an irreversible process. We must not only reaffirm our dedication but actively pursue major measures that will lead to the complete abolition of nuclear weapons,” he added.
UN reinforces support for the TPNW
In her opening remarks, Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN Under-Secretary-General and High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, echoed the significance of the TPNW.
Representing Secretary-General António Guterres, she warned of rising geopolitical tensions and the lack of meaningful disarmament progress, which continue to heighten the risk of nuclear catastrophe.
“When I spoke at the second meeting of state parties a little over a year ago, I quoted the Secretary-General in saying that our world is becoming unhinged. Geopolitical tensions are rising, global challenges are mounting, and as you yourselves then reaffirmed in the political declaration, the continued existence of nuclear weapons and lack of meaningful progress on disarmament heighten the risk of nuclear catastrophe and pose an existential threat to humanity as a whole,” said Nakamitsu.
The Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) convened at the United Nations headquarters. Photo credit: Nagima Abuova / The Astana Times
“Sadly, these trends have continued and only intensified,” she added.
Despite challenges, she noted encouraging developments, including the treaty’s expanding membership and increasing recognition of the catastrophic effects of nuclear weapons.
“Joining the TPNW sends an important signal to the international community,” said Nakamitsu, urging states to strengthen engagement ahead of the treaty’s first review conference in 2026.
ICAN: Nuclear disarmament is a political choice
Melissa Parke, an executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), highlighted the need for urgent action, recalling the devastation of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, which killed more than a quarter of a million people, including 38,000 children.
“Too many people have become resigned to the view that nuclear weapons are a permanent fixture in our world. We must never accept that idea. Nuclear weapons were built with human hands, and they can be dismantled with human hands. This is not a utopian dream,” said Parke.
She highlighted Kazakhstan and South Africa as proof that nuclear disarmament is possible, noting that political barriers—not technical constraints—stand in the way of progress.
“In challenging times like these, we might be inclined to lower our expectations, to temper our demands. But the higher the stakes, the more ambitious we must be.”
Warning that nuclear catastrophe is inevitable without decisive action, she invoked former U.S. President John F. Kennedy’s 1961 UN speech: “The weapons of war must be abolished before they abolish us.”
Parke condemned the modernization and expansion of nuclear arsenals by all nine nuclear-armed nations, as well as the complicity of their allies, calling the idea that nuclear weapons bring stability a self-serving illusion. She pointed to the history of nuclear accidents and near misses as proof that deterrence is a dangerous fallacy.
“Nuclear deterrence is the ultimate form of terrorism,” said Parke, quoting Nobel laureate Joseph Rotblat.
“The insidious reality is that manufacturing of these weapons, their maintenance and their eventual disposal all cost the earth. Even without any direct use, these weapons displace people and communities from cradle to grave, diverting funds and scientific know-how from pressing global needs. Deterrence theory is a distraction and an abstraction. The reality is, these weapons create harm on many levels through their very existence,” said Parke.
Red Cross stresses legal and humanitarian obligations
Elyse Mosquini, a permanent observer for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) and head of delegation in New York for ICRC, highlighted the treaty as a landmark achievement, emphasizing its role in strengthening international law, advancing disarmament and addressing the long-term harm caused by nuclear weapons.
“Today, almost half of the world’s states have expressed their will to be bound by the TPNW. This is a groundbreaking achievement—a victory for multilateralism and a resounding call to place humanity at the center of all debates and decision-making on nuclear disarmament,” said Mosquini.
She highlighted that the TPNW fills a critical legal gap by comprehensively prohibiting nuclear weapons in alignment with international humanitarian law. Mosquini noted that the treaty is advancing nuclear disarmament at a time when progress has stalled, serving as a necessary step toward eliminating nuclear weapons and fulfilling obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
To ensure the full and effective implementation of the TPNW, Mosquini urged states to reaffirm the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and denounce any threats of their use, emphasizing these actions as essential for reducing risks and building global confidence.
“I call on states parties to continue and advance work towards the establishment of an international trust fund for victim assistance and environmental remediation,” said Mosquini.
