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STORY: CTBTO / MULTILATERALISM PEACE AND SECURITY
TRT: 2:58
SOURCE: CTBTO
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 23 SEPTEMBER 2019, NEW YORK
1. Wide pan, conference room at the International Peace Institute
2. SOUNDBITE (English) Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of the United Nations:
“I think that we have to acknowledge that we have seen some tensions between nuclear states. And that is of course worrisome, and the call is to really have more dialogue.”
3. Med shot, President Espinosa at the podium
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Maria Fernanda Espinosa Garcés, President of the 73rd Session of the United Nations:
“We really need to bring society together to understand why multilateralism is irreplaceable, that everything that we are facing today, starting with a climate crisis, violent extremism, terrorism, arms race, the nuclear threat, everything requires collective action and global cooperation.”
5. Med shot, former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd at the podium
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Kevin Rudd, Former Prime Minister, Australia:
“Multilateralism is one of those words which the international diplomatic community has invented which baffles practically everybody else in the world. Normal people are baffled by it. So, what is it in reality? It's an active decision to work together across all countries, corporations and peoples to reach common solutions to common problems which everybody can live with.”
7. Med shot, CTBTO Executive Secretary Lassina Zerbo at the podium
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Lassina Zerbo, CTBTO Executive Secretary:
“Issues like arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament have been at a critical time where people wonder whether we will start another arms race or we will work towards achieving a world free from nuclear weapons.”
9. Wide shot, Lassina Zerbo at the podium, pan to audience
10. SOUNDBITE (English) Lassina Zerbo, CTBTO Executive Secretary:
“We have four million young people who are rallying now and and telling, 'No!' to what we've been doing and asking us to act because they want a better world for themselves. And that's the difference today. It's done for climate change. It should be done for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and any other global issue that could help us make this world a better place for all.”
11. Wide pan from back of the conference room at the International Peace Institute
While world leaders gathered in New York for the United Nations 74th General Assembly, on Monday (23 Sep) a group of officials and dignitaries met at a side event to discuss the erosion of trust in multilateral diplomacy.
In spite of current tensions, participants in a panel discussion at the International Peace Institute expressed hope that multilateral nuclear arms control agreements, like the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, the CTBT, will be strengthened.
“I think that we have to acknowledge that we have seen some tensions between nuclear states. And that is of course worrisome, and the call is to really have more dialogue,” said María Fernanda Espinosa who served as the President of the United Nations 73rd General Assembly. “We really need to bring society together to understand why multilateralism is irreplaceable, that everything that we are facing today, starting with a climate crisis, violent extremism, terrorism, arms race, the nuclear threat, everything requires collective action and global cooperation.”
Former Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd moderated the panel titled, “Picking Up the Pieces in a Fractured World: Rebuilding Trust in Multilateralism for Peace and Security.”
“Multilateralism is one of those words which the international diplomatic community has invented which baffles practically everybody else in the world,” explained Rudd. “So, what is it in reality? It's an active decision to work together across all countries, corporations and peoples to reach common solutions to common problems which everybody can live with.”
Panelists were particularly concerned with the mistrust in agreements on nuclear disarmament.
“Issues like arms control, nonproliferation and disarmament have been at a critical time where people wonder whether we will start another arms race or we will work towards achieving a world free from nuclear weapons,” said Lassina Zerbo, the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, or CTBTO. With over 300 monitoring stations worldwide, the CTBTO monitors the world for nuclear testing.
In spite of current uncertainty, Zerbo believes a new generation of leadership is beginning to shape global diplomacy.
“We have four million young people who are rallying now and telling, 'No!' to what we've been doing and asking us to act because they want a better world for themselves. And that's the difference today. It's done for climate change. It should be done for Arms Control and Non-Proliferation and any other global issue that could help us make this world a better place for all.”
All of the panelists encouraged all countries to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Before the treaty was opened for signing in 1996, over 2000 nuclear devices were exploded during the testing process. Since then, only 10.
