Marking the International Day for Disarmament and Nonproliferation Awareness on Thursday, Guterres said rising global tensions were driving military spending to “stratospheric levels,” while small arms and emerging technologies were making conflicts more deadly. His statement was delivered in New York by UN spokesperson Stéphane Dujarric, who said the secretary-general was calling for countries to meet disarmament obligations, rebuild trust, and strengthen safeguards against proliferation, weapons testing, and the use of deadly arms. Asked by a reporter whether the United Nations was prepared for a wider global conflict, Dujarric said the organization was not engaging in hypotheticals and wanted to see the current conflict end.