"NUCLEAR WEAPONS"

Briefing by Paulina Kubiak, Spokesperson for the President of the 77th Session of the General Assembly.

Under the agenda: "Maintenance of International Peace and Security".

Asked about the International Criminal Court (ICC)’s issue of an arrest warrant on President Putin in the context of the situation in Ukraine, Russian Ambassador Vasily Nebenzya said, “what they did doesn't make us closer to any resolution of the current crisis we are living in.” UNIFEED

The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Izumi Nakamitsu, told the Security Council that “the risk of a nuclear weapon being used is currently higher than at any time since the depth of the cold war,” and the war in Ukraine “represents the most acute example of that risk.” UNIFEED

Risk of Nuclear Weapons Use Higher Than at Any Time Since Cold War, Disarmament Affairs Chief Warns Security Council Many Speakers Condemn Russian Federation’s Dangerous Rhetoric, Veiled Threats

Following last week’s intercontinental ballistic missile launching drill by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), the UN top official for Europe, Central Asia and Americas warned the Security Council that the country “has clearly stated its intention to continue pursuing its nuclear weapons and ballistic missile programmes, in violation of relevant Security Council resolutions.” UNIFEED

United States Ambassador Linda Thomas-Greenfield said the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) “remains one of the most repressive governments in the world” as “it continues to systematically neglect the well-being of its people and deny them their human rights and fundamental freedoms.” UNIFEED