UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has expressed deep disappointment over the failure of the eleventh review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to reach a consensus on a substantive final outcome document.
According to the Operative Information Center-OMM, UN Spokesperson Stephane Dujarric stated that the Secretary-General regretted that participants did not seize this critical opportunity to make the world a safer place. Guterres emphasized that the current international environment, marked by high tensions and rising nuclear risks, demands urgent action. He urged all states to utilize every available channel of dialogue, diplomacy, and negotiation to ease tensions and mitigate nuclear threats, reaffirming that achieving a world free of nuclear weapons remains the UN's top disarmament priority. The Secretary-General also commended the President of the Conference, Ambassador Do Hung Viet of Vietnam, for his tireless efforts to forge a consensus.
The NPT, which entered into force in 1970, serves as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and disarmament efforts. Review conferences are held every five years to assess the treaty's implementation and address emerging security challenges. The failure to adopt a consensus document highlights growing geopolitical divisions among member states regarding disarmament commitments and security guarantees.
