Minister of Foreign Affairs Sugiono invites member countries to restore the credibility of the Convention on the Prohibition of Weapons

Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs Sugiono speaking at the High-Level Segment Conference on Disarmament 2026. (Twitter/@Menlu_RI)

JAKARTA - Indonesian Foreign Minister Sugiono invited member countries of the Conference on Disarmament or the Conference on Disarmament to restore the credibility of the forum, with the obligation to be enforced without exception, calling for the resumption of negotiations on a comprehensive nuclear weapons convention.

This was said by Foreign Minister Sugiono when delivering Indonesia's National Statement at the "High-Level Segment of the Conference on Disarmament 2026" in Geneva, Switzerland on Wednesday.

The Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs said that the members of the conference were entrusted with a clear and noble mandate, "to prevent the danger of nuclear war and to strengthen international peace and security."

However, continued the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, "the prolonged paralysis has weakened confidence in the architecture of disarmament."

"The credibility of this body cannot be taken lightly. Credibility must be restored through political will and substantive progress, not procedural obstacles," said the Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs, quoting a copy of the Indonesian National Statement distributed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Tuesday (24/2).

The Indonesian Minister of Foreign Affairs said further, the conference must "help maintain existing norms and commitments. Destructive actions to disarm should not be normalized. Obligations must be enforced with accountability and without exception."

"We must also address the increasing imbalance in implementation," he said.

Although most non-nuclear weapon states continue to meet strict non-proliferation and security standards, progress in disarmament remains limited.

"This sends an alarming signal: nuclear disarmament is optional, while non-proliferation obligations remain mandatory," said the Indonesian Foreign Minister.

Foreign Minister Sugiono added that this gap should not be maintained, and the Conference on Disarmament should not remain a symbol of helplessness.

"We must revive negotiations on a comprehensive nuclear weapons convention, on legally binding negative security assurances, on the prevention of an arms race in outer space, and on fissile material agreements that strengthen, not weaken, the objectives of disarmament," said Foreign Minister Sugiono.

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) is the only multilateral forum mandated by the UN General Assembly to negotiate key treaties related to disarmament.

The membership of the CD consists of 65 countries, namely 5 permanent members of the UN Security Council and 60 countries with significant military capabilities, including Indonesia.

Since its establishment in 1978, the CD has negotiated and produced a number of related key agreements, namely the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (BWC), the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (CWC) and the last one in 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).