MANILA, March 5 -- The Philippines has urged more states to ratify the nuclear weapon ban treaty as it underscores the "urgent need" to universalize the accord.

Philippine Permanent Representative to the United Nations Antonio Lagdameo renewed the call during the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in New York on March 3 (US time).

"Nuclear weapons pose an unacceptable risk to humanity and our environment -a reality that has been repeatedly validated by scientific research and historical evidence," he said, delivering the Philippine statement.

The scientific evidence that nuclear weapons present significant humanitarian consequences and risks, Lagdameo said, should compel the world...