US News

Obama to lead debate on nuclear disarmament at UN Security Council

Aug 26, 2009, 17:35 GMT

New York - US President Barack Obama is scheduled to preside over a United Nations Security Council session next month on nuclear disarmament - the first such event by the body that was formed to maintain peace and security around the world, a UN official said Wednesday.

The meeting on September 24 at UN headquarters in New York would be attended by some, if not all, of the heads of state of the council's 15 members. As the United States holds the rotating presidency of the council in September, the US president gets to chair the nuclear debate.

World leaders will be attending a climate change summit in New York on September 22 and a week-long UN General Assembly session starting on September 23.

Randy Ryddell, a senior political adviser in the office for disarmament affairs, said the non-government groups and nations that are not council members can also take part in the nuclear debate.

Ryddell and other UN officials said the issues of nuclear disarmament and the campaign against small arms and non-conventional weapons have become a priority because of the continuing damage to society and development in poor countries.

Mexico City will host an international conference on the issue from September 9 to 11 involving NGOs around the world under the sponsorship of the UN. Mexico City is the birthplace of the Treaty of Tlatelolco, the first treaty making Latin America a nuclear-free zone.