Disarmament is the key to lasting peace, Holy See says

By CathNews New Zealand

May 5th, 2026

The United Nations secretariat building in New York (Steve Cadman/Wikimedia Commons)

The Holy See has told a conference on non-proliferation of nuclear weapons that the hope of a lasting peace rests on the single pillar of disarmament. Source: Vatican News.

The Holy See’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations in New York told the 11th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons that the total elimination of nuclear weapons “is not a distant aspiration, but a necessary responsibility that calls for concrete and credible steps, directed at achieving a more just, secure and enduring peace”.

The path to reach the total elimination of such weapons is provided by the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the Holy See stated on May 1.

The Holy See called on all states that have not yet done so to join the Treaty, always keeping at the centre of reflection “the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences of the use of nuclear weapons” that would have “devastating and far-reaching effects, transcending borders and generations”.

“In an era of increasing strain on the foundations of international security,” the Holy See address noted, “it is crucial to consider the core conditions necessary for lasting peace.”

Nuclear disarmament aims to overcome “a model of security grounded in fear, in the threat of force and in the perpetuation of mutual vulnerability”, which can never offer “a stable or lasting foundation for peace”.

The address pointed to what it describes as worrying trends, such as “the resurgence of nuclear rhetoric, the expansion and modernisation of nuclear arsenals and the evolution of deterrence doctrines in ways that risk lowering thresholds”.

Added to this is the erosion of agreements on both arms control and disarmament, “which have long contributed to stability, transparency and trust”.

While expressing concern over “the rapid integration of emerging technologies, including artificial intelligence, into nuclear systems”, the Permanent Mission reiterated “the need to advance nuclear risk reduction and de-escalation measures”, bearing in mind the need to limit “the role of nuclear weapons in security doctrines” and the essential importance of “enhancing transparency and strengthening channels of communication”.

FULL STORY

Holy See: Disarmament the only true way to achieve secure peace (Vatican News)