Speaking at a high-level UN meeting marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, Sugiono criticized the continued possession of over 12,000 nuclear warheads by a handful of states, including some outside the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
“Indonesia urges nuclear-armed states to halt modernization and expansion, take concrete steps toward disarmament, and demonstrate political will for a world free of nuclear weapons,” Sugiono said.
He also pushed for stronger disarmament mechanisms and called on all nations to join the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), which bans the possession, testing, and threat of use of nuclear arms.
Sugiono warned that emerging risks such as cyberattacks, artificial intelligence, and terrorism increase the danger of nuclear conflict.
“These risks are uncontrollable. The only way to prevent disaster is the total elimination of nuclear weapons,” he said.
He urged world leaders to use the 2026 NPT Review Conference as a pivotal moment to renew global disarmament efforts.
The TPNW was adopted in 2017 and entered into force in 2021. It has been signed by more than 90 countries and ratified by over 70, including Indonesia.
Indonesia has long championed nuclear disarmament. On September 26, 2013, it led the initiative for the first UN high-level meeting on the issue as coordinator of the Non-Aligned Movement’s working group on disarmament.
A resolution titled Follow-up to the High-level Meeting on Nuclear Disarmament, submitted by Indonesia on behalf of the group, has been adopted annually since 2014, urging UN members to raise awareness and promote total nuclear disarmament.
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Translator: Kuntum KR, Rahmad Nasution
Editor: Primayanti
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