VIENNA CONFERENCE ON COMPREHENSIVE NUCLEAR TEST BAN TREATY

VATICAN CITY, SEP 5, 2003 (VIS) - Made public this afternoon was the speech given yesterday morning in Vienna by Msgr. Pietro Parolin, under-secretary of the Section for Relations with States of the Secretariat of State and head of delegation of the Holy See to the Third Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty. The conference began September 3 and ends today.
Msgr. Parolin conveyed Pope John Paul's greetings to the assembly and said that, "in sending me here, (the Pope) wishes to renew his appeal for a common and generous effort for peace and security." He noted that the Holy See, "by ratifying the Treaty on July 18, 2001, intended precisely to advance the promotion of a culture of peace based on the primacy of law and on respect for human life."

He affirmed that "close international cooperation and a multilateral approach are essential in order to face the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction to peace and international security. ... A so-called 'peace' based on nuclear weapons cannot be the type of peace we seek for the 21st century. The present state of the non-proliferation regime and of nuclear disarmament indicates that many still believe in the use of force and rely on nuclear weapons. This means, unfortunately, that the force and primacy of law, as well as trust in others and the will to dialogue, have not yet become priorities."

"The Holy See," the head of delegation said, "wants to speak for many people of good will who strive to make the world a safer place and not to engage in a new arms race."

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