UNITED NATIONS, Sept 26, 2021 (BSS/XINHUA) - United Nations Secretary-
General Antonio Guterres spoke Sunday on the International Day for the Total
Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, declaring that nuclear weapons must be
eliminated from the world and a new era of dialogue, trust and peace must
begin.

  Addressing the threat of nuclear weapons "has been central to the work of
the United Nations since its inception," said the top UN official.

  "In 1946, the very first General Assembly resolution sought 'the
elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and of all other major
weapons adaptable to mass destruction,'" the secretary-general noted.

  The UN chief pointed out that although the total number of nuclear weapons
has been decreasing for decades, some 14,000 are stockpiled around the world,
which is facing "the highest level of nuclear risk" in almost four decades.

  "Now is the time to lift this cloud for good, eliminate nuclear weapons
from our world," said Guterres, "and usher in a new era of dialogue, trust
and peace for all people."