From Nuclear Abolition Day to the UN First Committee
Posted: 6th October 2025
From Nuclear Abolition Day to the UN First Committee
* President of the UN General Assembly calls for NFU
* Presentations of the Joint Appeal to the UN, Sep 26 and Oct 17
* NFU letter to Australian Foreign Minister
* Stop Nuclear Weapons: Peace is in our Hands
* 3DNukeMissile in the Hague
Dear Dr. Peter Gloyns, UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock, in a powerful opening address to the UN High Level Meeting on the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on September 26, called on those governments who possess nuclear weapons to commit to no-first-use policies and invest in climate action rather than continuing to pour resources into nuclear arsenals.
Speaking to a mix of Heads of State, government ministers, ambassadors and civil society representatives, Ms Baerbock argued that “we have effective frameworks for reducing nuclear dangers shaped by this organization (the United Nations)” in particular “the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties (NWFZs).”
“But treaties alone are not enough. Each member state has to live up to them, especially those who possess those monstruous weapons. The most simple thing would be to commit to policies of no first use.”
Adopt No-First-Use policies
Shift nuclear weapons investments to address climate change
“The most simple thing would be to commit to policies of no first use. And, rather than pouring resources into new arsenals, we should invest in the biggest security threat for all humankind of this century… Just imagine if we were to use all the money invested into nuclear weapons today for fighting the climate crisis, the injustice of social divide.”
Annalena Baerbock, President of the UN General Assembly
Opening address to the UN High-Level Plenary Meeting on the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
Shift nuclear weapons investments to address climate change
“The most simple thing would be to commit to policies of no first use. And, rather than pouring resources into new arsenals, we should invest in the biggest security threat for all humankind of this century… Just imagine if we were to use all the money invested into nuclear weapons today for fighting the climate crisis, the injustice of social divide.”
Annalena Baerbock, President of the UN General Assembly
Opening address to the UN High-Level Plenary Meeting on the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons.
Presentations of the Joint Appeal to the United Nations
Presidents, Prime Ministers, Foreign Ministers and Ambassadors from 75 countries, including three of the nuclear-armed States, and four regional/political groups (Africa Group, Arab League, Non-Aligned Movement and the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States) joined a United Nations High-Level Plenary Meeting on September 26 to speak about ways to prevent nuclear war and achieve global nuclear disarmament.The meeting was opened by the President of the UNGA (see above) followed by a message from the UN Secretary-General. In addition, two representatives of civil society were invited to speak. Satoshi TANAKA, Executive Board member of Nihon Hidankyo, the Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations; and Dr. Deepshikha Kumari Vijh, Executive Director of the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy and Coordination Team Member of NuclearAbolitionDay.org, a global network established to build civil society cooperation for the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons (Nuclear Abolition Day).
Dr. Vijh used this opportunity to present a Joint Appeal for Nuclear Abolition Day to the High-Level Meeting. The appeal calls all UN Member States to:
- Affirm that the threat or use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible;
- Stand down nuclear forces and adopt policies never to initiate a nuclear war;
- Commit to eliminating nuclear weapons no later than the United Nation’s 100th anniversary in 2045;
- Redirect the billions spent on nuclear weapons to urgent global needs—peace, protection, and sustainable development—as envisioned in Article 26 of the UN Charter.
Dr Vijh will also present the appeal to a Plenary Meeting of the United Nations First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) on October 17. All UN Member States are represented at the First Committee, which meets at the UN from 8 October to 7 November 2025, chaired by Ambassador Maurizio Massari of Italy.
If you have not already endorsed the Joint Appeal, you can do so until October 15.
Endorse the Joint Appeal for Nuclear Abolition Day
NFU letter to the Australian Foreign Minister
On October 6, representatives from several Australian organizations and NoFirstUse Global sent a letter to Australian Foreign Minister Penny Wong on nuclear weapons, Artificial Intelligence and no-first-use policies.The letter follows-up on the statement by Ms Wong to the UN Security Council on September 26 on the risks of Artificial Intelligence and Nuclear Weapons, and the Opening Statement to the UN High Level Meeting on the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weaponsby UN General Assembly President Annalena Baerbock, in which she called for countries to adopt no-first-use policies (see above).
The letter calls on Ms Wong and the Australian Government to declare Australian support for the adoption of no-first-use policies by nuclear-armed nations, and notes that “this would be especially timely in the lead up to the Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference to be held May next year.” The letter suggests that “Declaring support for No First Use policies would be a simple and effective step towards a safer world that Australia could take in the immediate future. It has potential to find agreement from both our nuclear allies and adversaries.”
Australia Foreign Minister Penny Wong addressing the UN Security Council on September 26 on the risks of Artificial Intelligence and nuclear weapons. Stop Nuclear Weapons: Peace is in our Hands
On Nuclear Abolition Day people around the world raised their hands to symbolically Stop Nuclear Weapons and promote peace in out hands, took a selfie and posted it on social media. The action publicised the Joint Appeal for Nuclear Abolition Day, which includes calls on States to affirm that the threat or use of nuclear weapons is inadmissible, stand down nuclear forces and adopt policies never to initiate a nuclear war (a form of no-first-use).Below are a few examples of the social media actions. More can be seen on the NuclearAbolitionDay Facebook page and LinkedIn page.
#3DNukeMissile in the Hague
A Stop Nuclear Weapons: Peace is in our Hands action was held in front of the Peace Palace (International Court of Justice) in The Hague, on Nuclear Abolition Day, organised by representatives of NoFirstUse Global and World Future Council. Members of the public were invited to engage in the #3DNukeMissile, an interactive art piece – and symbolically stop the nuclear missile being launched by standing on the chains holding it back. The action called for implementation of the historic 1996 Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice, which affirmed the general illegality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons and the universal obligation to achieve their elimination.
NoFirstUse Global is a network of organizations, academics, policy makers and civil society advocates working cooperatively for the adoption of no-first-use policies by nuclear-armed States, the support for such policies from nuclear allied countries, and the implementation of such policies to help achieve broader nuclear risk-reduction, non-proliferation and disarmament measures.