Interview with UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs

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‍By CGTN's The Point

“Everything we do is for prevention,” said Izumi Nakamitsu, the UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs in an exclusive interview with CGTN’s The Point.

“First and foremost, disarmament measures contribute to reducing tensions, giving breathing space for different actors, and for different countries to try to find dialogues and political solutions which is actually the best way for resolving conflicts and disagreements. But also unfortunately a conflict starts, then disarmament actions contribute to minimizing human losses,” she explained.

With so many conflicts happening around, the DPRK’s controversial nuclear program tops Izumi Nakamitsu’s agenda.

“The DPRK crisis is something that we are watching very carefully,” she said, adding that the UN Secretary General had repeated many times that the crisis can only be resolved through political solutions.

“We stand ready to support member states to find ways into dialogue and negotiate solutions,” she said.

Talking about the potential threat of the US withdrawing from the Iran Nuclear Deal – known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) – Nakamitsu called on all parties to remain committed and to fully implement the agreement.

“We certainly hope that it should not be torn apart. We believe firmly that the JCPOA has in fact become a very important and integral part of international non-proliferation.”

She praised China as well as other countries which have emphasized adhering to the JCPOA.

US President Donald Trump delivers remarks on the Iran Strategy in the Diplomatic Reception Room at the White House in Washington, DC on October 13, 2017. /VCG Photo

“There is a strong international consensus that this is an important deal. After all it is not a bilateral agreement,” she argued.

Nakamitsu also talked about “a new arms race in terms of quality not quantity”.

“A new effort for trying to modernize nuclear weapons is of great concern to us,” she said, adding that “more than 90 percent of nuclear arsenals belong to the US and the Russian Federation. These two large nuclear weapon states have a special responsibility to make sure that they are engaged by better sorts of arms control and arms reduction discussions.”

Izumi Nakamitsu took up her position as the UN Under Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs on 1 May 2017.

“I used to be in the peacekeeping department for many years. I’ve seen China become more and more important and a larger contributor of peacekeepers for peacekeeping operations,” she recalled.

“I saw how China came up and pressed for this very important framework called the SDG, (Sustainable Development Goals) and played a critical role in putting together that very important framework. We welcomed China’s commitment to multilateralism and its support for different parts of the UN’s work,” she concluded.

The Point with Liu Xin is a 30-minute current affairs program on CGTN. It airs weekdays at 9.30 p.m. BJT (1330GMT), with rebroadcasts at 5.30 a.m. (2130GMT) and 10.30 a.m. (0230GMT).

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