Indonesia’s Foreign Minister, Retno Marsudi, underscored the urgent need for nuclear disarmament and outlined three key calls to action during the UN General Assembly.
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Indonesia, Retno Marsudi, attended a high-level meeting at the United Nations (UN) General Assembly in New York, commemorating the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, which took place on Thursday, the 26th of September. On this occasion, Retno emphasised Indonesia’s commitment to eliminating nuclear weapons.
In her statement, Marsudi noted that despite hopes for a better future, the world is still threatened by the potential for destruction caused by nuclear weapons. She revealed that there are currently around 13,000 nuclear weapons owned by several countries, including those not bound by the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
“Against these grim developments, we should ask ourselves: Should fear of nuclear weapons be our guarantee for peace? Indonesia’s answer will forever be no,” she said in her statement.
Moreover, Marsudi underlined global concerns about the decline of arms control agreements, the increase in aggressive nuclear rhetoric, and technological advances – such as artificial intelligence (AI) – that are further exacerbating nuclear risks.
“Arms control agreements are abandoned. Nuclear rhetoric becomes more aggressive. Technological advances like AI make nuclear risks even harder to predict and control,” she also said in her statement.
In the same forum, Marsudi also submitted the instrument of ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) to the UN on the 25th of September. She emphasised that Indonesia will not remain silent amid the threat of nuclear war.
Marsudi outlined three calls from Indonesia in the forum. First, countries around the world need to commence serious disarmament negotiations. Second, it is important to be aware of the risks posed by new technologies and necessitate regulations as well as controls to prevent conflicts involving nuclear weapons. Third, the minister called for the need to ensure sustainable peace by burying mutual suspicion and fostering unity and cooperation in the commitment to peace.
“Fear should not dictate our future,” she further remarked.