By Ramesh Jaura*
BERLIN | 17 July 2024 (IDN) — We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Ambassador Sérgio Duarte, former United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, President of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, and a friend and supporter of IDN.
I met him first at the 25th UN Conference on Disarmament Issues from 26 to 28 August 2015 in the Hiroshima city of Japan, which coincided with the 70th anniversary of the first atomic bombings.
During the interview and at a personal meeting a few years later in New York, I came to know him as warm-hearted.
As Stéphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the Secretary-General, pointed out. “Ambassador Duarte made a critical contribution to global disarmament and non-proliferation efforts across five decades as a distinguished civil servant.”
“Prior to his role as head of our department of Disarmament Affairs, Ambassador Duarte provided leadership to strengthen the international disarmament framework as Chairman of the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and as President of the 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. As a diplomat for his native Brazil, he also held ambassadorial appointments in several States, including as Permanent Representative to the United Nations.
“The Secretary-General honours Ambassador Duarte’s tireless commitment to peace and the pursuit of a world free of nuclear weapons, which is something we all continue to work for. We all send our deepest condolences to his friends and family.”
Sérgio Duarte regularly contributed his opinion articles to IDN between March 2017 ( ‘We Must Succeed in Prohibiting Nuclear Weapons’—and December 2013 (The End of An Era?) That turned out to be his last opinion article to IDN.
On 9 February 2024, he wrote to me: “I am sick and unable to send you further contributions”. (He had introduced to me his friend Leonam Guimarães—whose articles we have been publishing.) He concluded his email: “I hope this will be the start of a fruitful cooperation.”
We have continued the cooperation with Leonam Guimarães, a nuclear and naval engineer (PhD) and a member of the Brazilian National Academy of Engineering, CEO of Eletronuclear S.A., Coordinator, Brazilian Navy Nuclear Propulsion Program. Here the link to his contributions to IDN.
Call for a new Special Session on Disarmament
Sérgio Duarte concluded his last opinion article with the following lines:
“Cold War reminiscent hostility reappears with more complex and alarming features. Unmet promises, thwarted aspirations, perpetuation of inequalities and conflicting priorities lead to a struggle for influence and hegemony among the main poles of power, side by side with lesser players whose divergences may also drag humankind to a conflict capable of triggering its own extinction.
“The awareness of the looming nuclear risks of current times should reinvigorate the resolve to open a new era of forward-looking understandings on nuclear disarmament. Resumption of contacts between the major powers in several levels is essential, as well as ensuring the widest participation in future arrangements relevant to the security of all states.
“In this regard, the need for convening of a new Special Session of the General Assembly on Disarmament is increasingly evident. In 1978, the first event of this kind (SSOD-I) adopted a balanced document on disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation, with important diagnoses and recommendations. SSOD-I also reorganized the structure of the mechanism of the United Nations in those fields.
“A new Special Session on Disarmament would be decisive to update those findings and institutions and contribute to the revitalization of the multilateral treatment of issues of vital interest to the international community as a whole.”
We will continue to do our best to fulfil his legacy. [IDN-InDepthNews]
*Ramesh Jaura is IDN Editor-in-Chief.
Photo: Sérgio Duarte at the August 2017 Pugwash Conference on Science and World Affairs, held in Astana, Kazakhstan. Credit: Pugwash.
