FM Vijitha Herath addresses high-level segment of Conference on Disarmament in Geneva

The high-level part of the Conference on Disarmament started in Geneva yesterday. It is led by Ambassador Omar Zniber from Morocco and will run until February 25, 2026. Minister of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Employment and Tourism, Vijitha Herath, spoke at the Conference through a video message on the first day. He stressed the need for a strong multilateral system to tackle current global challenges and to maintain lasting peace and security worldwide for both today's and future generations. Minister Herath reaffirmed Sri Lanka’s dedication to achieving its goals and mentioned the country’s active involvement in global disarmament efforts as a developing island nation from the Global South, according to the Permanent Mission of Sri Lanka to the UN in Geneva. He pointed out Sri Lanka’s important promises to prevent an arms race in outer space and to fully eliminate nuclear weapons. Minister Herath also noted that Sri Lanka will keep supporting the creation of Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones in the Middle East. Recognizing the effects of new technologies on International Humanitarian Law, he highlighted Sri Lanka’s push for early talks on a legally binding agreement to ban Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems. During the Conference, United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres stressed the need for renewed commitment to multilateralism to address the challenges from current geopolitical tensions. Foreign Ministers from Armenia, Cuba, Indonesia, Iran, Kyrgyzstan, and Norway, along with the Assistant Secretary for the Bureau of Arms Control and Non-Proliferation from the U.S. Department of State and the Executive Secretary of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO), participated in the Conference on February 23, either in person or via video messages. Ambassador Sumith Dassanayake, Sri Lanka's Permanent Representative to the United Nations in Geneva and other international organizations in Switzerland, represented Sri Lanka during this high-level segment. The Conference on Disarmament was recognized by the Tenth Special Session on Disarmament of the United Nations General Assembly in 1978 as the main multilateral forum for disarmament negotiations globally. It includes 65 member states, which consist of the five nuclear-armed nations. Sri Lanka has been a member of the Conference on Disarmament since 1978.