GENEVA, Switzerland, Jan. 22 (UPI) -- The United Nations says preventing expansion of nuclear arsenals and reducing weapon stockpiles should be the key aims of this year's disarmament conference.
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon Monday also told the Conference on Disarmament opening session in Geneva, Switzerland, that military spending worldwide has risen to over $1.2 trillion.
"Our aim should be twofold: we must prevent any expansion of nuclear arsenals, and we must accelerate the reduction of existing weapons and stockpiles. All countries should move towards halting production of fissile material for weapons," he said in a message delivered by Sergei Ordzhonikidze, secretary-general of the conference.
"Maintaining the moratorium on nuclear tests is equally important, and should be in effect at least till the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty enters into full force," Ban said, urging all states that have not yet done so to sign or ratify that pact. Preventing an arms race in space also continues to be an "urgent challenge," he added.
Ban told the 65 member states of the conference, the world's sole multilateral forum for disarmament negotiations, that "stakes are high" in dealing with these issues, as he also highlighted the massive amount of money spent on arms and suggested this would be better used toward the Millennium Development Goals to reduce poverty and other global ills by 2015.
"World military spending has now risen to over $1.2 trillion," he said. "This incredible sum represents 2.5 percent of global gross domestic product. Even if 1 percent of it were redirected towards development, the world would be much closer to achieving the Millennium Development Goals."
