WASHINGTON - Afghanistan on Thursday urged countries to prevent terrorists from acquiring Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD) and their means of delivery.
Ambassador Mahmoud Saikal said this in his address to the UN Security Council’s open-debate on Preventing Catastrophe: A global agenda for stopping the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction by non-state actors."
Afghanistan called upon all countries to support international efforts to prevent terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery, he said.
“The risk of non-state actors, especially terrorists, using weapons of mass destruction (WMD), including nuclear weapons, is one of the biggest threats to global peace and security,” he added.
Although no large-scale attack of that nature had happened yet, terrorists had shown the intent and capacity to develop and use WMD, he warned.
“Therefore, it is the responsibility of the international community to effectively address the possible threats of the use of WMD by the non-state actors, in all its aspects,” he said.
Saikal said while some progress had been made in the adoption of measures to prevent the proliferation of WMD by non-state actors, the rate and variability of the progress confirmed that accomplishing the objective of full implementation of UNSC Resolution 1540 was a long-term task that requires continued efforts.
“It also requires constant and enhanced support from the Security Council, as well as provision of technical assistance to states that require the same, especially for the implementation of Resolution 1540 and voluntary national plan of actions,” he explained.
Afghanistan, surrounded by a number of nuclear countries, had maintained a consistent policy of calling for total elimination of all weapons of mass destruction, he observed.
“We have done so knowing that a world free of WMD translates into a safer and prosperous world for the current and future generations,” the ambassador said. (Pajhwok)