VIENNA, December 9 (Sputnik), Daria Chernyshova — The third conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons has come to a close in Vienna, Austria with almost 160 nations, international organizations and representatives of civil society calling for the immediate ban on nuclear weapons.
The two day conference saw discussions on various aspects of the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, including the impact on human health and the environment, as well as reviews of the risks of the accidental use of nuclear weapons due to the fallible nature of both technology and humanity.
The participants of the conference underlined that the use and testing of nuclear weapons has already had a catastrophic effect, and left radioactive contamination in many parts of the world.
The participants of the conference urged that leaders seize the opportunity to reduce those risks now.
The conference in Vienna is the third conference of its kind, and it was finally attended by some of the five officially recognized nuclear powers, who had previously declined to attend — the United States and the United Kingdom.
Unlike all the other statements made by every participant of the conference, the British delegation made it clear that it did not consider a complete ban on nuclear weapons viable as it would endanger political stability, so that it would preserve its nuclear stockpile until absolutely necessary.
