Speaking at the Third UN Preparatory Committee for the 2026 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See’s Permanent Observer to the United Nations, issued a powerful appeal for universal nuclear disarmament, declaring that “true peace cannot exist without true disarmament.”
The Archbishop denounced the escalating global arms race and the renewed reliance on nuclear deterrence strategies, warning that such trends threaten to undermine international stability and deepen global insecurity. Echoing Pope Francis’s long-standing stance, he emphasized that a security model based on fear only drives the world further from a sustainable and lasting peace.
Archbishop Caccia sharply criticized the prevailing “logic of fear and deterrence,” stating that national defense policies must not be shaped by intimidation or mistrust. He called on all nuclear-armed nations to uphold their legal obligations under Article VI of the NPT by entering into sincere negotiations to reduce and ultimately eliminate nuclear arsenals. Without concrete action, he cautioned, the world risks facing the catastrophic humanitarian fallout of nuclear conflict.
In addition to weapons stockpiles, the Archbishop voiced concern over the rapid development of new technologies such as hypersonic missiles and autonomous weapon systems, which heighten the risk of misjudgment and accidental launches. He underscored the ethical, legal, and humanitarian challenges posed by integrating artificial intelligence into warfare, calling for urgent international regulation.
Archbishop Caccia also spotlighted the moral imperative to redirect military spending toward peaceful ends. He proposed transforming military industries to serve human development, specifically advocating for a global fund to eradicate hunger and uplift the most impoverished regions—an approach he said would promote global equity and human dignity.
He concluded with a renewed conviction that “a world without nuclear weapons is not only conceivable, but essential,” and urged the global community to explore how the NPT and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) can jointly advance the cause of disarmament.
His remarks came amid alarming data from the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI), revealing that global military spending soared to a record $2.7 trillion in 2024—the highest increase since the Cold War—driven by intensifying conflicts and heightened geopolitical tensions across Europe, the Middle East, and Asia.