The annual session of the First Committee (security and disarmament) of the United Nations General Assembly’s, is currently taking place in New York. Italy’s Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament, Ambassador Leonardo Bencini, spoke yesterday in the general debate. In his statement on behalf of Italy (video), Ambassador Bencini reiterated the condemnation of Russia’s aggression against Ukraine; expressed appreciation for the mediation by President Trump, Egypt, Qatar, and Turkey that led to the signing of the first phase of the Gaza peace plan last Monday in Sharm El‑Sheikh. He reaffirmed Italy’s support for the Nuclear Non‑Proliferation Treaty, called for the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear‑Test‑Ban Treaty (CTBT) and the start of negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material (FMCT). Ambassador Bencini, who chaired the Ninth Review Conference of the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in 2022, urged other countries to complete the work begun three years ago by adopting strengthening measures for the BWC at a special conference in 2026. He also recalled Italy’s position on the military applications of artificial intelligence, on space security, and on the conventions banning anti‑personnel mines and cluster munitions.
The First Committee – chaired this year by Italy and led by Ambassador Maurizio Massari, Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York – will continue its work in the coming days with thematic debates and will conclude on November 7.
