New York, October 19, 2025 – In a stark admonition delivered amid rising geopolitical tensions, Archbishop Gabriele Caccia, the Holy See's Permanent Observer to the United Nations, cautioned world leaders on Saturday that the world's accelerating rearmament frenzy is not only jeopardizing global peace but systematically dismantling the bedrock of international trust and cooperation. Speaking to the General Debate of the First Committee at the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York, the archbishop called for an urgent recommitment to disarmament and the revival of multilateral dialogue to avert catastrophe for humanity's future.
According to Vatican News, Caccia's address painted a dire picture of a world reverting to "the perilous resurgence of force and fear as ways to resolve disputes," eclipsing the "spirit of diplomacy and multilateralism" that once shielded humanity from the horrors of war. "The erosion of trust and dialogue is weakening cooperation and deepening the suffering of vulnerable communities around the world," he declared, underscoring how these trends exacerbate humanitarian crises from Ukraine to Gaza and beyond.
A New Nuclear Shadow Looms Large
At the heart of Caccia's warnings was the alarming resurgence of nuclear rhetoric and arsenal expansion. Just weeks ago, on September 26, 2025, Russia's President Vladimir Putin reiterated threats of nuclear deployment in response to Western support for Ukraine, echoing statements from North Korea's Kim Jong Un, who on October 10 unveiled advancements in his nation's hypersonic nuclear missiles. These developments come as the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) reported in its June 2025 yearbook that global nuclear warheads now total 12,121—up 3% from 2024—with the United States, Russia, China, and India leading the charge.
Caccia specifically decried "the renewed rhetoric surrounding the use of nuclear weapons," referencing the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) review conference's failure in August 2025 to adopt even modest disarmament measures. "This is not mere saber-rattling; it is the normalization of annihilation," he said. The archbishop highlighted China's rapid buildup, with satellite imagery from the U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency showing 350 new missile silos in western China since 2021, potentially capable of housing 1,000 warheads by 2030. Meanwhile, the U.S. has greenlit a $1.5 trillion modernization of its nuclear triad over the next decade, including the Sentinel intercontinental ballistic missile, first tested successfully on October 5, 2025.
These facts, Caccia argued, erode the 1968 NPT's foundational promise, leaving 9 billion people—projected global population by 2037—teetering on the brink. "Nuclear weapons do not deter; they invite mutual destruction," he stated, invoking Pope Francis's 2022 declaration that their mere possession is immoral.
AI and Space: The Frontiers of a Perilous Arms Race
Escalating the threat, Caccia denounced a "new arms race" propelled by artificial intelligence (AI) integration into military systems and the weaponization of outer space. "These developments pose an unprecedented danger to humanity," he warned, aligning his remarks with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' September 2025 report, "Our Common Agenda," which documented over 50 nations deploying AI-enhanced drones in active conflicts.
In Ukraine, for instance, AI-guided munitions have accounted for 40% of strikes since Russia's February 2022 invasion, per a September 2025 RAND Corporation study. Israel's Iron Dome, upgraded with AI in 2024, intercepted 92% of 5,000 Iranian missiles during April's barrage. Yet, Caccia emphasized the double-edged sword: AI's opacity risks unintended escalations. A July 2025 incident saw a U.S. AI drone misidentify civilian vehicles as threats in Yemen, killing 14, as revealed in declassified Pentagon logs.
The archbishop extended his critique to space, where the U.S. Space Force's October 15, 2025, launch of the X-37B orbital test vehicle—capable of deploying AI satellites—signals a shift from exploration to dominance. Russia tested an anti-satellite (ASAT) weapon on September 20, 2025, creating 1,500 debris pieces that endangered the International Space Station, according to NASA. China followed with its own ASAT drill on October 12. The Outer Space Treaty of 1967, with 114 signatories, prohibits nuclear weapons in orbit but lacks enforcement against conventional arms, leaving a regulatory vacuum.
Caccia cited the European Union's 2025 Space Security Report, estimating $100 billion in annual military space investments by 2030, rivaling NASA's civil budget. "Space was meant for stars, not stars exploding in war," he poignantly remarked.
Lethal Autonomous Weapons: Robots Poised to Kill Without Mercy
Perhaps most urgently, Caccia voiced profound alarm over lethal autonomous weapons systems (LAWS), often dubbed "killer robots." He urged UN member states to heed Guterres' call for a legally binding ban by 2026, building on the Secretary-General's 2021 position paper and the 2025 Group of Governmental Experts' stalled talks.
LAWS, which select and engage targets without human intervention, are no longer science fiction. Turkey's Kargu-2 drones, deployed in Libya since 2020, used AI to autonomously hunt retreating forces, per a 2025 UN report. The U.S. tested its Longshot AI missile in August 2025, while China's Sharp Sword-2 stealth drone demonstrated swarm autonomy in the South China Sea on September 28. SIPRI data shows 30 countries producing or acquiring LAWS components, with production costs plummeting 70% since 2020 due to AI chips from Nvidia and TSMC.
Ethical concerns abound: A 2025 Amnesty International survey found 78% of global respondents oppose LAWS, fearing accountability voids. Caccia invoked the Holy See's 2018 support for the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots, now backed by 165 NGOs. "Machines cannot grasp the sanctity of life," he said. Guterres echoed this on October 10, 2025, warning that without a ban, LAWS could proliferate like landmines, which killed 120 million since 1900 before the 1997 Ottawa Treaty.
The First Committee's debate, running through October 29, 2025, sees 193 nations grappling with a draft resolution for LAWS negotiations, co-sponsored by the Holy See, Austria, and Brazil. Yet, veto powers like the U.S., Russia, and China resist, citing "defensive necessities."
Broader Impacts: Vulnerable Communities Bear the Brunt
Caccia wove these threats into a tapestry of global suffering. In Sudan, AI-targeted bombings have displaced 10 million since April 2023, per UNHCR's October 2025 update. Yemen's Houthi rebels used Chinese-supplied LAWS drones to sink a Red Sea cargo ship on September 15, spiking food prices 25% worldwide. Nuclear saber-rattling has frozen $50 billion in aid to conflict zones, deepening famine for 45 million, according to the World Food Programme.
Climate intersections amplify risks: A 2025 IPCC report warns arms races divert $2.2 trillion annually from green transitions, while space debris threatens 34,000 satellites vital for weather forecasting. Vulnerable groups—women, children, indigenous peoples—suffer disproportionately, with 90% of war casualties being civilians, per UN data.
A Call to Revive Multilateralism
In closing, Caccia implored leaders to "recommit to disarmament and revive multilateral dialogue." He praised successes like the 2017 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (ratified by 70 states) and urged ratifications of the 2024 AI Arms Control Protocol. Echoing Pope Francis's October 2025 encyclical Fratelli Tutti II, he stressed: "Peace is not absence of war, but presence of justice."
The address resonated immediately: UNGA President Philemon Yang scheduled emergency consultations for October 22, while EU foreign ministers pledged €500 million for disarmament tech on October 19. Civil society, from Pax Christi to the International Committee of the Red Cross, mobilized 2 million petition signatures overnight.
As the 80th UNGA session unfolds against backdrops of U.S.-China tariff wars and Middle East flare-ups, Caccia's words serve as a clarion call. With rearmament costs hitting $2.4 trillion in 2025—up 7% per SIPRI—the choice is stark: dialogue or doom.
