[Read by Under-Secretary-General Nakamitsu]

On this solemn day, we mark 80 years since Nagasaki was devastated by an atomic bomb.

We remember the tens of thousands who perished in an instant, and we grieve with those who lost loved ones.

We also honour the survivors — the hibakusha. While their numbers grow smaller each year, their courage and testimony have become an eternal moral compass for our world, one that will forever point the way to peace.

And we pay tribute to the people of Nagasaki. Amidst unimaginable destruction, they showed incredible strength and resilience, rebuilding a city of peace, culture and global connection.

Nagasaki is a beacon of hope for our world.

This year also marks the 80th anniversary of the United Nations — born from the ashes of a global conflict with a mission to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war. It is no coincidence that nuclear disarmament was the subject of the very first General Assembly resolution.

Eight decades later, it remains our highest disarmament priority.

Yet, today, the shadow of nuclear weapons looms once again. They have returned to the centre of national security strategies and are being brandished as tools of coercion. Meanwhile, military spending has reached record highs — while investments in peace and sustainable development falter.

Yet, there are hopeful signs that the world is waking up to the need to reverse course.

Last year, the Japanese organization Nihon Hidankyo — which represents the survivors of the Nagasaki and Hiroshima bombings — was awarded the 2024 Nobel Peace Prize for its tireless work in raising awareness about this critical issue.

And in the Pact for the Future, adopted last year, countries re-committed to a world free of nuclear weapons.

Peace and security cannot be achieved through an arms race. We must re-commit to the proven tools of disarmament — dialogue, diplomacy, confidence building, transparency, and arms control and reduction.

Countries must move from words to action by strengthening the global disarmament regime — with the Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons at the centre, complemented by the momentum created by the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.

Let us honour the memory of the victims of Nagasaki not only with remembrance, but with resolve. Remembering the catastrophic past must move us to protect and build a peaceful today and tomorrow.

Let us work together urgently for a world free of nuclear weapons.

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