Shibbir Ahmed, New York — United Nations General Assembly President Dr. Khalilur Rahman called for urgent action to reduce nuclear risks and eliminate nuclear weapons, declaring that nuclear disarmament must remain the world’s highest disarmament priority. Speaking Tuesday at a high-level plenary meeting at UN Headquarters in New York to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, Rahman warned that the global nuclear threat remains serious and is being compounded by growing geopolitical tensions and emerging technologies.
“The starting point must be a simple truth, reaffirmed in the Pact for the Future: a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought,” Rahman said.
He noted that the global nuclear inventory stood at more than 12,000 warheads as of January 2026, with an estimated 2,100 to 2,200 maintained on high operational alert. He also warned that, for the first time since the end of the Cold War, the global stockpile is expected to grow again as new warheads enter arsenals faster than older ones are dismantled.
Growing nuclear risks
Rahman said new technologies, including artificial intelligence, cyber capabilities and advanced delivery systems, are creating additional uncertainty around nuclear command, control and decision-making. He also pointed to the expiration of the New START treaty on February 5, 2026, saying that, for the first time since 1972, there are no binding limits on strategic nuclear arsenals.
The 2026 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty also ended without a consensus outcome, marking the third consecutive Review Conference to do so, according to Rahman.
“These are not abstract diplomatic setbacks,” Rahman said. “They increase the risks of arms racing, escalation, and catastrophic miscalculation.”
Four areas for action
Rahman called for action on four fronts: restoring dialogue and safeguards, strengthening the international nuclear non-proliferation system, reducing and ultimately eliminating nuclear arsenals, and mobilizing the public around nuclear disarmament. He urged nuclear powers to return to negotiations and establish frameworks that provide verifiable limits, transparency and predictability. He also called for stronger crisis communication and measures to reduce nuclear risks.
The General Assembly president reaffirmed the importance of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency in safeguards and verification. He also called on states that have not signed or ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty to do so and urged all countries to maintain the moratorium on nuclear weapons testing.
‘Highest disarmament priority’
Rahman said nuclear-weapon states should take concrete, transparent, verifiable and irreversible steps toward disarmament, including reducing the role of nuclear weapons in security doctrines and lowering their operational readiness.
He also highlighted the role of survivors, civil society, young people, scientists and educators in keeping the human consequences of nuclear weapons at the center of international discussions. Despite the continuing risks, Rahman pointed to progress in nuclear disarmament, noting that the global inventory has fallen from roughly 70,000 warheads in 1986 to about 12,000 today.
“If the United Nations is to get back to basics – to prevent the scourge of war – then nuclear disarmament must remain our highest disarmament priority, just as it was at the birth of this Organization,” Rahman said. He urged governments to restore safeguards, reduce nuclear risks and work toward a world free of nuclear weapons.
