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STATEMENT BY

THE HONOURABLE DATO’ SAIFUDDIN ABDULLAH

MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS, MALAYSIA

AT THE

HIGH-LEVEL PLENARY MEETING OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY

TO COMMEMORATE AND PROMOTE

THE INTERNATIONAL DAY FOR THE TOTAL ELIMINATION OF

NUCLEAR WEAPONS,

 

 

Mr. President,

Excellencies,

Ladies and gentlemen,

 

 

At the outset, I wish to express my appreciation to the President of the General Assembly, His Excellency Mr. Abdulla Shahid for convening this meeting and to the Secretary-General, His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres for his participation.

 

2.      Malaysia associates itself with the statement delivered by Azerbaijan on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement.

 

3.      Notwithstanding some positive developments in recent years, Malaysia remains concerned over the lack of progress in nuclear disarmament. Despite the uncertain security environment and the various challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, we must remain persistent in the pursuit of nuclear disarmament. The status quo of a world with nuclear weapons is simply unacceptable and unsustainable.

 

 

 

Mr. President,

 

4.      Attaining a nuclear-weapon-free world has been a longstanding desire of the international community since the inaugural United Nations General Assembly in 1946. This brought about the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which remains until today the cornerstone of global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime. While we come closer to the 10^th NPT Review Conference, the existential threat facing humanity posed by the existence and modernisation of nuclear weapons remains.

 

5.      During the 1995 NPT review conference, Malaysia expressed concern that the indefinite extension would not serve as an incentive towards universality of the Treaty, but would be a carte blanche to the nuclear-weapon States to retain nuclear weapons indefinitely. These concerns remain true until today. For countries in possession of nuclear weapons, they continue to uphold the potential utility of such weapons. In extension, nuclear umbrella states also continue to promote the existence of such weapons.

 

6.      Even more, the nuclear disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation architecture is being strained and pulled apart. It is therefore imperative and has become more critical than ever, that we act on nuclear disarmament. The only and absolute guarantee against the use of nuclear weapons is their total elimination.

 

7.      Malaysia hopes that States Parties will reaffirm their obligations and past commitments towards the Treaty at the upcoming 10^th NPT Review Conference, and progress effectively towards their implementation.

 

 

 

Mr. President,

 

8.      Malaysia welcomes the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) on 22 January 2021. The Treaty further strengthens the global norms that nuclear weapons are unacceptable. It should not be used; should not be threatened to be used, and should be discarded and destroyed as soon as possible. The outlawing of nuclear weapons contributes towards international peace and security.

 

9.      Malaysia further believes that the TPNW complements, and not undermines, other international legal instruments relating to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, particularly the NPT, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban-Treaty, and the Southeast Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty.

 

10.    Malaysia looks forward to continue its constructive engagement in the lead up to the First Meeting of States Parties of the TPNW in March 2022.

 

 

 

Mr. President,

 

11.    In closing, it is hoped that today’s commemoration of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons will continue to generate global wave and public awareness of the urgency to materialise the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world.  

 

 

Thank you.