(MENAFN) The Vatican's permanent representative to the United Nations issued a warning on Saturday about the rapidly escalating race to rearmament, which endangers world peace and undermines the basis of international trust and collaboration, as reported by Vatican News.

Archbishop Gabriele Caccia called on global leaders to renew their commitment to disarmament and to reinvigorate multilateral discussions aimed at protecting the future of humanity.

His remarks were made during the General Debate of the First Committee of the 80th Session of the UN General Assembly in New York.

He highlighted that the "spirit of diplomacy and multilateralism" that once sought to shield humanity from the horrors of war is now being eclipsed by "the perilous resurgence of force and fear as ways to resolve disputes."

Caccia noted that the decline in trust and open dialogue is weakening cooperation among nations and exacerbating the hardships faced by vulnerable populations worldwide.

He voiced particular concern over the revival of aggressive rhetoric about nuclear weapons and the growing enlargement of nuclear arsenals.

The archbishop condemned a "new arms race" propelled by the incorporation of artificial intelligence into military technologies and the extension of rivalries into outer space.

These trends represent an "unprecedented danger to humanity," he warned.

Addressing advancements in technology, Caccia expressed serious apprehension about the creation of lethal autonomous weapons systems and urged member countries to endorse UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' appeal to finalize a legally binding treaty banning such weapons by 2026.

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