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“The disarmament and arms control framework upon which the gains of the post-Cold War era were made is eroding, but we have nothing else yet with which to replace it,” Izumi Nakamitsu, the U.N. undersecretary general and high representative for disarmament affairs, told Security Council members.

The warning was issued at a meeting to discuss the 1970 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty ahead of the next NPT review conference to be held in 2020, when the landmark pact marks the 50th year since its entry into force. The NPT is reviewed every five years.

“As a result, the prospect of the use of nuclear weapons is higher than it has been in generations,” Nakamitsu said.

In February, the United States said it is withdrawing from the 1987 bilateral Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty with Russia in response to alleged violations by Moscow, a move that could fuel concerns about a new arms race possibly involving other parties such as China.

The situation has been further exacerbated by the trend of nations increasingly modernizing their nuclear arsenals, as well as relying more on rapidly emerging technology that makes acquiring the dangerous weapons easier, the undersecretary general said………

In the run-up to the NPT review conference to be held for a month from April 2020, a preparatory meeting through May 10 will get underway later this month at the U.N. headquarters.  https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2019/04/03/world/prospect-nuclear-weapons-use-higher-generationsu-n-disarmament-chief-says/#.XKUUKVUzbGg