Thursday, February 24 2005 13:02 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

United Nations: Expressing serious concern over terrorist groups acquiring Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD), United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan has stressed on the need to find ways to prevent nuclear technology from being diverted to secret and illegal arms programmes.

"A major challenge is to prevent nuclear technology and materials from being diverted to covert and illegal weapons programmes while ensuring the legitimate rights of States- parties to the 35-year-old Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) to peaceful uses of nuclear energy," Annan told the UN Advisory Board on Disarmaments at the United Nations yesterday (Feb 23, 2005).

He expressed concern at the prospect of terrorist groups developing or acquiring chemical, biological and nuclear weapons and the means to deliver them.

The Secretary-General called on the international community to adopt the global security system in the transformed global security environment to prevent such a situation from developing.

It is crucial that the surge of initiatives aimed at curbing the proliferation of small arms lead to real progress on the ground. "That momentum must be sustained," he said.

For six decades disarmament has been a key item on the UN agenda but "this year is also one in which we must think ahead, and help plant the seeds of long-term global security", he said adding that next month he will put before member States the most far-reaching international security reform in the life of the UN, based on the proposals from the 16-member high-level Panel on threats, challenges and change.