Izumi Nakamitsu, UN High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, speaks during the 2022 Vienna Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons at the Austrian Center in Vienna, Austria, June 20, 2022. (JOE KLAMAR / AFP)

UNITED NATIONS – The existential dangers posed by nuclear weapons were back in the global spotlight, the United Nations (UN) High Representative for Disarmament Affairs Izumi Nakamitsu said on Monday.

She appealed to all states in possession of nuclear weapons "to commit to no-first use of any nuclear weapon" as an immediate measure to help save humanity from potential extinction.

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Nakamitsu urged all "to step back from the brink," calling for an end of the Ukraine crisis, as well as to the saber-rattling and threats to nuclear safety

Speaking at the general debate of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) of the 77th session of the UN General Assembly, Nakamitsu also urged all "to step back from the brink," calling for an end of the Ukraine crisis, as well as to the saber-rattling and threats to nuclear safety.

Committee Chairman Mohan Pieris, Sri Lanka's permanent representative to the UN, said the world community was indeed confronted by a stark reality – war and violence were ravaging lives, both of soldiers and civilians – as the desire for peace is drifting further away.

He promised the committee would strive to evolve a set of recommendations for the increasingly complicated global security environment.

Representatives of regional and other likeminded groups voiced a range of concerns, including Suriya Chindawongse, permanent representative of Thailand, who expressed worry over accelerating arms races and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine conflict.

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Speaking on behalf of the Arab Group, Mohammed Hussein Mohammed Bahr Aluloom from Iraq, said the presence of nuclear weapons made it impossible to establish global peace, security and stability.