Total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only guarantee to prevent their use: Foreign Minister

Minister of Foreign Affairs Abdulla Shahid has stated Maldives have a moral and ethical responsibility to call for the elimination of nuclear weapons and that their total elimination was the only guarantee to prevent their use. Foreign Minister Shahid made the statement while delivering remarks at the high-level meeting to commemorate and promote the International Day of Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, which was convened on the side-lines of the ongoing 74th Session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.

Minister Shahid said the significance of observing the international day connotes the moral commitment of the international community towards general disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, while being aware of the devastating threat posed by such weapons to humanity and collective necessity to work towards their complete elimination. He announced Maldives will ratify the Arms Trade Treaty and the Cluster Munitions Convention, in addition to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. He reiterated the decision by the administration of President Ibrahim Mohamed Solih is a clear indication of the ethical and moral principles of Maldives concerning international peace and security.

Maldives have in the past taken principled positions in calling for the elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction. It first ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in 1970 and remains fully supportive of the international disarmament machinery, including the First Committee of the General Assembly, the Disarmament Commission, and the Conference on Disarmament.