High-Level Segment of the 2025 Session of the Conference of Disarmament

Madam President,

Madam Director-General and Secretary-General of the Conference,

Excellencies and Distinguished delegates,

At the outset, allow me to convey to you the cordial greetings of His Holiness Pope Francis. Today, we stand at a turning point. Together, as a family of nations, we can take just and courageous actions for a general, balanced and complete disarmament under effective international control.[1] The alternative is the perpetuation of conflicts, violence, increasing inequalities and environmental degradation, from which ultimately benefits no one but the arms lobby.

Regrettably, the Conference on Disarmament has been held hostage to a stalemate that has continued year after year without the adoption of a proper negotiating mandate. The raison d’être of this body is to negotiate multilateral disarmament instruments and to deliver concrete results. In this regard, it must be recalled that all peoples of the world have a vital interest in the success of the disarmament negotiations. Consequently, all States have the duty – as well as the right – to contribute and to participate in such negotiations.[2]

Madam President,

I would like to elaborate the following three issues:

1) Nuclear Weapons. The Holy See remains deeply concerned about the existential threat posed by nuclear weapons and their proliferation. Peace and international stability are incompatible with attempts to build upon the fear of mutual destruction or the threat of total annihilation.^[3] It is equally deceptive and self-defeating to assume that the security and peace of some are separate from the collective security and peace of others.[4]

It is a matter of concern to note the continuous expansion and modernization of nuclear arsenals, accompanied by escalating rhetoric and threats concerning their deployment. The means to promote peace and stability today should not be of those that would reignite or fuel the dangerous pursuit of nuclear weapons.

Moreover, it is urgent that nuclear weapons States engage in serious negotiations to reduce and eventually eliminate their stockpiles in accordance with their obligations under Art. VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Pope Francis has repeatedly reaffirmed the “immorality of manufacturing and possessing nuclear weapons”^[5].

2) Outer space is becoming increasingly important and relevant to various fields of human activity, especially from an economic and strategic point of view. Therefore, it is imperative that it be used exclusively for peaceful purposes, as a common good to promote integral development, scientific research and education.

Regrettably, developments in outer space have outpaced international governance and regulatory frameworks, thereby increasing instability and unpredictability. For these reasons, the updating and development of “space law” must not be further delayed. Outer space is, and must remain a res communis, in line with the lofty affirmation of Article 1 of the 1967 Outer Space Treaty, which states that “the exploration and use of outer space […] shall be the province of all mankind.”

The negotiation of a verifiable and comprehensive commitment to a ban on all categories of weapons in space – together with a commitment to prohibit the development and testing of anti-satellite weapons – has become increasingly urgent to build confidence and strengthen collective security and responsibility.

3) The Weaponization of Artificial Intelligence (AI). “The ability to conduct military operations through remote control systems has led to a lessened perception of the devastation caused by those weapon systems and the burden of responsibility for their use, resulting in an even more cold and detached approach to the immense tragedy of war.”[6]

In particular, Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS), which are capable of identifying and striking targets without direct human intervention and control, are a “cause for grave ethical concern” because they lack the “unique human capacity for moral judgment and ethical decision-making”[7]. As Pope Francis affirmed: “No machine should ever choose to take the life of a human being”[8]. For these reasons, the Holy See encourages close cooperation to enhance our ability to appreciate the positive aspects of AI, while fully understanding, limiting and preventing its applications that would endanger life and put humanity at risk. In this regard, there is an urgent need to establish an immediate moratorium on the development and use of LAWS. 

Madam President,

Immense military expenditures, that often go far beyond what is necessary to ensure legitimate defense, foment the vicious circle of an exhausting arms race that diverts vital resources away from poverty eradication, justice, education and healthcare. Such massive and competitive arms accumulation seems to contradict the provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, in which States resolve “to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats to the peace” (Art 1.1).

Pope Francis recently made an appeal to reduce military expenditures on weapons and to “use at least a fixed percentage of the money earmarked for armaments to establish a global Fund to eradicate hunger and facilitate in the poorer countries educational activities aimed at promoting sustainable development and combating climate change”[9].

Madam President,

As Pope Francis strongly affirms, it is necessary “to overcome the logic of confrontation and embrace instead the logic of encounter”[10]. The Holy See encourages this Conference to adopt a renewed sense of urgency and commitment to reach concrete and lasting agreements for the sake of the common good, before it may be too late.

Thank you.