United Nations, April 27 (IANS): UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Monday said "eliminating nuclear weapons is a top priority for the UN", and called upon States to work hard and constructively in the coming weeks to produce an outcome that strengthens the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT).

The secretary-general made the statement in his message to the opening of a month-long review conference of the parties to the NPT. The message was read by Deputy UN Secretary-General Jan Eliasson to the conference, which runs from April 27 to May 22, Xinhua reported.

"Eliminating nuclear weapons is a top priority for the UN," Ban said. "No other weapon has the potential to inflict such wanton destruction on our world."

According to the UN chief, the Non-Proliferation Treaty was the cornerstone of the non-proliferation regime and an essential basis for realising a nuclear-weapon-free world.

Conferences to review the operation of the treaty have been held at five-year intervals since the treaty went into effect in 1970. Each conference has sought to find agreement on a final declaration that would assess the implementation of the treaty's provisions and make recommendations on measures to further strengthen it.