General and Complete Disarmament Resolutions

A/RES/53/77No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 71General and complete disarmament, published in 1999.

What else is in this group?

239 documents · 1960–2002

Newer documents in this group exist (latest: 2002).

2002A/RES/56/24General and complete disarmament resolutionsCompare with earlier document
2001A/RES/55/33General and complete disarmament resolutionsCompare with earlier document
2000A/RES/54/54General and complete disarmament resolutionsCompare with earlier document
1999A/RES/53/77General and complete disarmament resolutionsCompare with earlier document
1998A/RES/52/38General and complete disarmamentCompare with earlier document

This group bundles related documents that are not individually ordered.

Grouped automatically by matching titles within the same organ.

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 topics

Disarmament Disarmament Agreements Disarmament Negotiations Illicit Arms Trafficking Nuclear Disarmament Small Arms

What does this mandate say?

193 operative paragraphs

A

Calls upon all States to support the initiative aimed at the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia;

Commends the first concrete steps taken by the States of the region in preparing the legal groundwork for their initiative;

Encourages the five Central Asian States to continue their dialogue with the five nuclear-weapon States on the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia;

Requests the Secretary-General, within existing resources, to provide assistance to the Central Asian States in the preparation of the form and elements of an agreement on the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia;

Decides to consider the question of the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia at its fifty-fourth session under the agenda item entitled “General and complete disarmament”.

B

Welcomes the initiative taken by Mali concerning the question of the illicit circulation of small arms and their collection in the affected States of the Saharo-Sahelian subregion;

Also welcomes the Declaration of a Moratorium on the Importation, Exportation and Manufacture of Small Arms and Light Weapons in West Africa, adopted by the heads of State and Government of the Economic Community of West African States at Abuja on 31 October 1998, and urges the international community to give its support to the implementation of the moratorium;

Further welcomes the action taken by the Secretary-General in implementation of this initiative in the context of General Assembly resolution 40/151 H of 16 December 1985;

Thanks the Governments concerned in the subregion for the substantial support that they have given to the United Nations advisory missions, and welcomes the declared readiness of other States to receive the United Nations Advisory Mission;

Encourages the Secretary-General to continue his efforts, in the context of the implementation of resolution 49/75 G and of the recommendations of the United Nations advisory missions, to curb the illicit circulation of small arms and to collect such arms in the affected States that so request, with the support of the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa and in close cooperation with the Organization of African Unity;

Notes that, as part of its efforts to halt the flow of small arms into Mali and the Saharo-Sahelian subregion, the Government of Mali oversaw the destruction, at the “Flame of Peace” ceremony held at Timbuktu, Mali, on 27 March 1996, of thousands of small arms handed over by ex-combatants of the armed movements of northern Mali;

Encourages the setting up in the countries of the Saharo-Sahelian subregion of national commissions against the proliferation of small arms, and invites the international community to support as far as possible the smooth functioning of the national commissions where they have been set up;

Takes note of the conclusions of the ministerial consultation on the proposal for a moratorium on the importing, exporting and manufacture of light weapons in the region, held at Bamako on 26 March 1997, and encourages the States concerned to pursue their consultations on the matter;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to examine the issue and to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Assistance to States for curbing the illicit traffic in small arms and collecting them”.

C

Takes note of the part of the report of the Conference on Disarmament relating to a future convention on the prohibition of radiological weapons;

Expresses grave concern regarding any use of nuclear wastes that would constitute radiological warfare and have grave implications for the national security of all States;

Calls upon all States to take appropriate measures with a view to preventing any dumping of nuclear or radioactive wastes that would infringe upon the sovereignty of States;

Requests the Conference on Disarmament to take into account, in the negotiations for a convention on the prohibition of radiological weapons, radioactive wastes as part of the scope of such a convention;

Also requests the Conference on Disarmament to intensify efforts towards an early conclusion of such a convention and to include in its report to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session the progress recorded in the negotiations on this subject;

Takes note of resolution CM/Res.1356 (LIV) of 1991, adopted by the Council of Ministers of the Organization of African Unity,20 on the Bamako Convention on the Ban on the Import of Hazardous Wastes into Africa and on the Control of Their Transboundary Movements within Africa;

Expresses the hope that the effective implementation of the International Atomic Energy Agency Code of Practice on the International Transboundary Movement of Radioactive Waste will enhance the protection of all States from the dumping of radioactive wastes on their territories;

Welcomes the adoption at Vienna on 5 September 1997 of the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management, as recommended by the participants in the Summit on Nuclear Safety and Security, held in Moscow on 19 and 20 April 1996, and the signing of the Joint Convention by a number of States beginning on 29 September 1997, and appeals to all States to sign and subsequently ratify, accept or approve the Convention, so that it may enter into force as soon as possible;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Prohibition of the dumping of radioactive wastes”.

D

Welcomes the declaration by Mongolia of its nuclear-weapon-free status;

Endorses and supports Mongolia's good-neighbourly and balanced relationship with its neighbours as an important element of strengthening regional peace, security and stability;

Invites Member States, including the five nuclear-weapon States, to cooperate with Mongolia in taking the necessary measures to consolidate and strengthen Mongolia's independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity, the inviolability of its borders, its economic security, its ecological balance and its nuclear-weapon-free status, as well as its independent foreign policy;

Appeals to the member States of the Asia and Pacific region to support Mongolia's efforts to join the relevant regional security and economic arrangements;

Requests the Secretary-General and relevant United Nations bodies to provide the necessary assistance to Mongolia, within existing resources, to take the necessary measures mentioned in paragraph 3 above;

Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session on the implementation of the present resolution;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fifth session an item entitled “Mongolia's international security and nuclear-weapon-free status”.

E

Decides to convene an international conference on the illicit arms trade in all its aspects no later than 2001;

Requests the Secretary-General to prepare a report containing his recommendations to be submitted to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session, with a view to a decision by the Assembly at its fifty-fourth session on the objective, scope, agenda, dates, venue of and preparatory committee for an international conference on the illicit arms trade in all its aspects;

Also requests the Secretary-General, in preparing his report in accordance with paragraph 2 of the present resolution:

To seek the views of all Member States on the objective, scope, agenda, dates and venue of and preparatory work for an international conference on the illicit arms trade in all its aspects and to take into account these views as well as the views already expressed by them in their replies to the request of the Secretary-General for their views in accordance with paragraph 4 of General Assembly resolution 52/38 J;

To take into account his report on small arms,10 as well as relevant recommendations to be made in his report prepared with the assistance of the Group of Governmental Experts on Small Arms, which will be submitted to the General Assembly in accordance with paragraph 5 of Assembly resolution 52/38 J;

Welcomes the offer by the Government of Switzerland to host in Geneva, no later than 2001, an international conference on the illicit arms trade in all its aspects;

Requests the Secretary-General, in order to assist in preventing the illicit trafficking in and illicit circulation of small arms and light weapons, to initiate a study as soon as possible, within available financial resources and with any other assistance provided by Member States in a position to do so, on the feasibility of restricting the manufacture and trade of such weapons to the manufacturers and dealers authorized by States;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Small arms”.

F

Calls for a review of nuclear doctrines and in this context, immediate and urgent steps to reduce the risks of unintentional and accidental use of nuclear weapons;

Requests the five nuclear-weapon States to undertake measures towards the implementation of paragraph 1 of the present resolution;

Calls upon Member States to take the necessary measures to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons in all its aspects and to promote nuclear disarmament, with the ultimate objective of eliminating nuclear weapons;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session an item entitled “Reducing nuclear danger”.

G

Expresses grave concern over and strongly deplores the recent nuclear tests conducted in South Asia;

Notes that the States concerned have declared moratoriums on further testing and have said that they are willing to enter into legal commitments not to conduct any further nuclear tests, and reiterates the need for such legal commitments to be expressed in legal form by signing and ratifying the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.

H

Urges all concerned States to exert efforts to continue making it possible to have no intention, no plan and no reason to deploy nuclear weapons on the territory of the non-nuclear States of the region of Central and Eastern Europe;

Calls upon all States of Central and Eastern Europe and other States concerned to continue to abide by their nuclear non-proliferation obligations under existing multilateral and bilateral agreements;

Decides to consider the implementation of the present resolution at its fifty-fifth session under the item entitled “General and complete disarmament”.

I

Welcomes the decision by the Conference on Disarmament32 to establish, under item 1 of its agenda entitled “Cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament”, an ad hoc committee which shall negotiate, on the basis of the report of the Special Coordinator and the mandate contained therein, a non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices;

Notes with satisfaction that this ad hoc committee has already engaged in the first step in the substantive negotiations;

Encourages the Conference on Disarmament to re-establish its ad hoc committee at the beginning of its 1999 session.

J

Reaffirms its resolution 52/38 E in all its aspects;

Also reaffirms that international disarmament forums should take fully into account the relevant environmental norms in negotiating treaties and agreements on disarmament and arms limitation and that all States, through their actions, should fully contribute to ensuring compliance with the aforementioned norms in the implementation of treaties and conventions to which they are parties;

Calls upon States to adopt unilateral, bilateral, regional and multilateral measures so as to contribute to ensuring the application of scientific and technological progress in the framework of international security, disarmament and other related spheres, without detriment to the environment or to its effective contribution to attaining sustainable development;

Welcomes the information provided by Member States on the implementation of the measures they have adopted to promote the objectives envisaged in the present resolution;

Invites all Member States to communicate to the Secretary-General information on the measures they have adopted to promote the objectives envisaged in the present resolution, and requests the Secretary-General to submit a report containing this information to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Observance of environmental norms in the drafting and implementation of agreements on disarmament and arms control”.

K

Acknowledges the report of the Secretary-General and actions taken in accordance with the Final Document of the International Conference on the Relationship between Disarmament and Development;35

Urges the international community to devote part of the resources made available by the implementation of disarmament and arms limitation agreements to economic and social development, with a view to reducing the ever widening gap between developed and developing countries;

Invites all Member States to communicate to the Secretary-General, by 15 April 1999, their views and proposals for the implementation of the action programme adopted at the International Conference on the Relationship between Disarmament and Development, as well as any other views and proposals with a view to achieving the goals of the action programme, within the framework of current international relations;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to take action, through appropriate organs and within available resources, for the implementation of the action programme adopted at the International Conference;

Also requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Relationship between disarmament and development”.

L

Renews its previous call to all States to observe strictly the principles and objectives of the Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, signed at Geneva on 17 June 1925,38 and reaffirms the vital necessity of upholding its provisions;

Calls upon those States that continue to maintain reservations to the 1925 Geneva Protocol to withdraw those reservations;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-fifth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution.

M

Stresses the particular relevance of the deliberations in the 1998 substantive session of the Disarmament Commission on guidelines on conventional arms control/limitation and disarmament, with particular emphasis on consolidation of peace in the context of General Assembly resolution 51/45 N, as a useful basis for further deliberations, and encourages the Disarmament Commission to continue its efforts aimed at the adoption of such guidelines in 1999;

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on consolidation of peace through practical disarmament measures, submitted pursuant to resolution 51/45 N, and once again encourages Member States, as well as regional arrangements and agencies, to lend their support to the implementation of recommendations contained therein;

Invites the group of interested States that was formed in New York in March 1998 to continue to analyse lessons learned from previous disarmament and peace-building projects, as well as to promote new practical disarmament measures to consolidate peace, especially as undertaken or designed by affected States themselves;

Encourages Member States, including the group of interested States, to lend their support to the Secretary-General in responding to requests by Member States to collect and destroy small arms and light weapons in post-conflict situations;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Consolidation of peace through practical disarmament measures”.

N

Invites all States that have not yet done so to sign or, after entry into force, to accede to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction;40

Urges all States that have not yet done so to ratify the Convention without delay subsequent to their signature;

Renews its call upon all States to contribute towards the full realization and effective implementation of the Convention to advance the care and rehabilitation, and the social and economic reintegration of mine victims, and mine awareness programmes, and the removal of anti-personnel mines placed throughout the world and the assurance of their destruction;

Welcomes the generous offer by the Government of Mozambique to act as host for the First Meeting of the States Parties;

Requests the Secretary-General, in accordance with article 11, paragraph 2, of the Convention, to undertake the preparations necessary to convene the First Meeting of the States Parties, to take place in Maputo during the week of 3 May 1999;

Invites all States parties to the First Meeting of the States Parties and, in accordance with article 11, paragraph 4, of the Convention, States not parties to the Convention, as well as the United Nations, other relevant international organizations or institutions, regional organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and relevant non-governmental organizations to attend the Meeting as observers in accordance with the agreed rules of procedure.

O

Stresses that sustained efforts are needed, within the framework of the Conference on Disarmament and under the umbrella of the United Nations, to make progress on the entire range of disarmament issues;

Affirms that global and regional approaches to disarmament complement each other and should therefore be pursued simultaneously to promote regional and international peace and security;

Calls upon States to conclude agreements, wherever possible, for nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament and confidence-building measures at the regional and subregional levels;

Welcomes the initiatives towards disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and security undertaken by some countries at the regional and subregional levels;

Supports and encourages efforts aimed at promoting confidence-building measures at the regional and subregional levels in order to ease regional tensions and to further disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation measures at the regional and subregional levels;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Regional disarmament”.

P

Decides to give urgent consideration to the issues involved in conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels;

Requests the Conference on Disarmament, as a first step, to consider the formulation of principles that can serve as a framework for regional agreements on conventional arms control, and looks forward to a report of the Conference on this subject;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels”.

Q

Welcomes the continuing contribution that the Antarctic Treaty43 and the treaties of Tlatelolco,27 Rarotonga,28 Bangkok29 and Pelindaba30 are making towards freeing the southern hemisphere and adjacent areas covered by those treaties from nuclear weapons;

Calls for the ratification of the treaties of Tlatelolco, Rarotonga, Bangkok and Pelindaba by all regional States, and calls upon all concerned States to continue to work together in order to facilitate adherence to the protocols to nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties by all relevant States that have not yet done so;

Welcomes the steps taken to conclude further nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at among the States of the region concerned, and calls upon all States to consider all relevant proposals, including those reflected in the resolutions of the General Assembly on the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones in the Middle East and South Asia;

Reiterates the important role of nuclear-weapon-free zones in strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime and in extending the areas of the world that are nuclear-weapon-free, and, with particular reference to the responsibilities of the nuclear-weapon States, calls upon all States to support the process of nuclear disarmament, with the ultimate goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons;

Calls upon the States parties and signatories to the treaties of Tlatelolco, Rarotonga, Bangkok and Pelindaba, in order to pursue the common goals envisaged in those treaties and to promote the nuclear-weapon-free status of the southern hemisphere and adjacent areas, to explore and implement further ways and means of cooperation among themselves and their treaty agencies;

Encourages the competent authorities of nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties to provide assistance to the States parties and signatories to such treaties so as to facilitate the accomplishment of these goals;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Nuclear-weapon-free southern hemisphere and adjacent areas”.

R

Notes with appreciation the ongoing work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to achieve the objective and purpose of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, to ensure the full implementation of its provisions, including those for international verification of compliance with it, and to provide a forum for consultation and cooperation among States parties;

Stresses the importance of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in verifying compliance with the provisions of the Convention as well as in promoting the timely and efficient accomplishment of all its objectives;

Stresses also the vital importance of full and effective implementation of, and compliance with, all provisions of the Convention;

Urges all States parties to the Convention to meet in full and on time their obligations under the Convention and to support the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in its implementation activities;

Emphasizes the necessity of universal adherence to the Convention, and calls upon all States that have not yet done so to become States parties to the Convention without delay;

Stresses the importance to the Convention that all possessors of chemical weapons, chemical weapons production facilities or chemical weapons development facilities, including previously declared possessor States, should be among the States parties to the Convention, and welcomes progress to that end;

Welcomes the emerging cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and efforts towards the prompt conclusion of a relationship agreement between the United Nations and the Organization, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction”.

S

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on transparency in armaments;

Recalls the reports of the Group of Governmental Experts on the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, which convened in 1994 and 1997 to consider the continuing operation of the Register46 and its further development, and the views expressed and proposals presented therein;

Recognizes the importance of achieving greater progress in the further development of the Register in order that it may truly enhance confidence-building and security among States and accelerate efforts towards attainment of the goal of general and complete disarmament, and to that end urges Member States to submit their views to the Secretary-General concerning the following matters with a view to their consideration by the Group of Governmental Experts, which is to be convened in 2000:

The early expansion of the scope of the Register;

The elaboration of practical means for the further development of the Register in order to increase transparency related to weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons, and to transfers of equipment and technology directly related to the development and manufacture of such weapons;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Transparency in armaments”.

T

Requests the Secretary-General to hold broad-based consultations, within available financial resources and with any other assistance provided by Member States in a position to do so, taking into account the ongoing work of the Group of Governmental Experts on Small Arms, with all Member States, interested regional and subregional organizations, international agencies, and experts in the field on:

The magnitude and scope of the phenomenon of illicit trafficking in small arms;

Possible measures to combat illicit trafficking in and illicit circulation of small arms, including those suited to indigenous regional approaches;

The role of the United Nations in collecting, collating, sharing and disseminating information on illicit trafficking in small arms;

Also requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session on the outcome of his consultations;

Invites Member States in a position to do so to provide the necessary assistance, bilaterally, regionally and through multilateral channels, such as the United Nations, in support of the implementation of measures associated with combating illicit trafficking in and illicit circulation of small arms;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session an item entitled “Illicit traffic in small arms”.

U

Reaffirms the importance of achieving the universality of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,2 and calls upon States not parties to the Treaty to accede to it without delay and without conditions;

Reaffirms also the importance for all States parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to fulfil their obligations under the Treaty;

Calls for the determined pursuit by the nuclear-weapon States of systematic and progressive efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally, with the ultimate goal of eliminating those weapons, and by all States of general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control;

Recognizes that, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of eliminating nuclear weapons, it is important and necessary to pursue such actions as:

The early signature and ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty26 by all States with a view to its early entry into force, and cessation of nuclear tests pending its entry into force;

The early conclusion of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament, on a non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, on the basis of the report of the Special Coordinator and the mandate contained therein;

Multilateral discussions on possible future steps on nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation;

The early entry into force of the Treaty on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START II)52 and the early commencement and conclusion of negotiations for START III by the Russian Federation and the United States of America;

Further efforts by the five nuclear-weapon States to reduce their nuclear arsenals unilaterally and through their negotiations;

Invites the nuclear-weapon States to keep the States Members of the United Nations duly informed of the progress or efforts made towards nuclear disarmament;

Welcomes the ongoing efforts in the dismantlement of nuclear weapons, and notes the importance of the safe and effective management of the resultant fissile materials;

Calls upon all States to redouble their efforts to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, inter alia, nuclear weapons, confirming and strengthening if necessary their policies not to export equipment, materials or technology that could contribute to the proliferation of those weapons;

Calls upon all States parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to make their best efforts for the success of the next Review Conference, which will be held in 2000;

Encourages continued serious discussions on nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament in appropriate forums.

V

Reaffirms its determination to ensure the effective operation of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms,46 as provided for in paragraphs 7 to 10 of resolution 46/36 L;

Calls upon Member States, with a view to achieving universal participation, to provide the Secretary-General by 31 May annually with the requested data and information for the Register, including nil reports if appropriate, on the basis of resolutions 46/36 L and 47/52 L and the recommendations contained in paragraph 64 of the 1997 report of the Secretary-General on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development;

Invites Member States in a position to do so, pending further development of the Register, to provide additional information on procurement from national production and military holdings and to make use of the “Remarks” column in the standardized reporting form to provide additional information such as types and models;

Reaffirms its decision, with a view to further development of the Register, to keep the scope of and participation in the Register under review, and, to that end, recalls:

Its request to Member States to provide the Secretary-General with their views on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development and on transparency measures related to weapons of mass destruction;

Its request to the Secretary-General, with the assistance of a group of governmental experts to be convened in 2000, on the basis of equitable geographical representation, to prepare a report on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development, taking into account the work of the Conference on Disarmament, the views expressed by Member States and his reports on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development, with a view to a decision at its fifty-fifth session;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that sufficient resources are made available for the Secretariat to operate and maintain the Register;

Invites the Conference on Disarmament to consider continuing its work undertaken in the field of transparency in armaments;

Reiterates its call upon all Member States to cooperate at the regional and subregional levels, taking fully into account the specific conditions prevailing in the region or subregion, with a view to enhancing and coordinating international efforts aimed at increased openness and transparency in armaments;

Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session on progress made in implementing the present resolution;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Transparency in armaments”.

W

Underlines once again the unanimous conclusion of the International Court of Justice that there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control;

Calls once again upon all States to fulfil immediately that obligation by commencing multilateral negotiations in 1999 leading to an early conclusion of a nuclear weapons convention prohibiting the development, production, testing, deployment, stockpiling, transfer, threat or use of nuclear weapons and providing for their elimination;

Requests all States to inform the Secretary-General of the efforts and measures they have taken on the implementation of the present resolution and nuclear disarmament, and requests the Secretary-General to apprise the General Assembly of that information at its fifty-fourth session;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Follow-up to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons”.

X

Recognizes that, in view of recent political developments, the time is now opportune for all the nuclear-weapon States to undertake effective disarmament measures with a view to the total elimination of these weapons with a specified framework of time;

Recognizes also that there is a genuine need to de-emphasize the role of nuclear weapons and to review and revise nuclear doctrines accordingly;

Urges the nuclear-weapon States to stop immediately the qualitative improvement, development, production and stockpiling of nuclear warheads and their delivery systems;

Also urges the nuclear-weapon States, as an interim measure, to de-alert and deactivate immediately their nuclear weapons;

Calls for the conclusion, as a first step, of a universal and legally binding multilateral agreement committing all States to the objective of the total elimination of nuclear weapons;

Reiterates its call upon the nuclear-weapon States to undertake the step-by-step reduction of the nuclear threat and to carry out effective nuclear disarmament measures with a view to the total elimination of these weapons with a specified framework of time;

Calls upon the nuclear-weapon States, pending the achievement of a total ban on nuclear weapons through a nuclear-weapons convention, to agree on an internationally and legally binding instrument of the joint undertaking not to be the first to use nuclear weapons, and calls upon all States to conclude an internationally and legally binding instrument on security assurances of non-use and threat of use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon States;

Welcomes the establishment in the Conference on Disarmament of the Ad Hoc Committee on the prohibition of the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices and urges a speedy conclusion of a universal and non-discriminatory convention thereon, and also welcomes the establishment of the Ad Hoc Committee on effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons and urges the pursuit of efforts in this regard as a matter of priority;

Expresses its concern at the continuing opposition by some nuclear-weapon States to the establishment of an ad hoc committee on nuclear disarmament in the Conference on Disarmament, as called for in General Assembly resolution 52/38 L;

Reiterates its call upon the Conference on Disarmament to establish, on a priority basis, an ad hoc committee on nuclear disarmament to commence negotiations early in 1999 on a phased programme of nuclear disarmament and for the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons with a specified framework of time through a nuclear weapons convention;

Urges the Conference on Disarmament to take into account in this regard the proposal of the twenty-eight delegations for a programme of action for the elimination of nuclear weapons,58 as well as the mandate for the ad hoc committee on nuclear disarmament, proposed by the twenty-six delegations;59

Calls for the convening of an international conference on nuclear disarmament at an early date with the objective of arriving at an agreement on a phased programme of nuclear disarmament and for the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons with a specified framework of time through a nuclear weapons convention;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session a report on the implementation of the present resolution;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Nuclear disarmament”.

Y

Calls upon the nuclear-weapon States to demonstrate an unequivocal commitment to the speedy and total elimination of their respective nuclear weapons and, without delay, to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to the elimination of these weapons, thereby fulfilling their obligations under article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons;2

Calls upon the United States of America and the Russian Federation to bring the Treaty on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START II)52 into force without further delay and immediately thereafter to proceed with negotiations on START III with a view to its early conclusion;

Calls upon the nuclear-weapon States to undertake the necessary steps towards the seamless integration of all five nuclear-weapon States into the process leading to the total elimination of nuclear weapons;

Also calls upon the nuclear-weapon States to pursue vigorously the reduction of reliance on non-strategic nuclear weapons and negotiations on their elimination as an integral part of their overall nuclear disarmament activities;

Further calls upon the nuclear-weapon States, as an interim measure, to proceed to the de-alerting of their nuclear weapons and, in turn, to the removal of nuclear warheads from delivery vehicles;

Urges the nuclear-weapon States to examine further interim measures, including measures to enhance strategic stability and accordingly to review strategic doctrines;

Calls upon those three States that are nuclear-weapon capable and that have not yet acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to reverse clearly and urgently the pursuit of all nuclear weapons development or deployment and to refrain from any action which could undermine regional and international peace and security and the efforts of the international community towards nuclear disarmament and the prevention of nuclear weapons proliferation;

Calls upon those States that have not yet done so to adhere unconditionally and without delay to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and to take all the necessary measures which flow from adherence to this instrument;

Also calls upon those States that have not yet done so to conclude full-scope safeguards agreements with the International Atomic Energy Agency and to conclude additional protocols to their safeguards agreements on the basis of the Model Protocol approved by the Board of Governors of the Agency on 15 May 1997;

Further calls upon those States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify, unconditionally and without delay, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty26 and, pending the entry into force of the Treaty, to observe a moratorium on nuclear tests;

Calls upon those States that have not yet done so to adhere to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and to work towards its further strengthening;

Calls upon the Conference on Disarmament to pursue its negotiations in the Ad Hoc Committee established under item 1 of its agenda entitled “Cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament”, on the basis of the report of the Special Coordinator33 and the mandate contained therein, of a non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, taking into consideration both nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament objectives, and to conclude these negotiations without delay, and, pending the entry into force of the treaty, urges States to observe a moratorium on the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices;

Also calls upon the Conference on Disarmament to establish an appropriate subsidiary body to deal with nuclear disarmament and, to that end, to pursue as a matter of priority its intensive consultations on appropriate methods and approaches with a view to reaching such a decision without delay;

Considers that an international conference on nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, which would effectively complement efforts being undertaken in other settings, could facilitate the consolidation of a new agenda for a nuclear-weapon-free world;

Recalls the importance of the decisions and resolution adopted at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and underlines the importance of implementing fully the decision on strengthening the review process for the Treaty;

Affirms that the development of verification arrangements will be necessary for the maintenance of a world free from nuclear weapons, and requests the International Atomic Energy Agency, together with any other relevant international organizations and bodies, to explore the elements of such a system;

Calls for the conclusion of an internationally legally binding instrument to effectively assure non-nuclear-weapon States parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons;

Stresses that the pursuit, extension and establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at, especially in regions of tension, such as the Middle East and South Asia, represent a significant contribution to the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world;

Affirms that a nuclear-weapon-free world will ultimately require the underpinnings of a universal and multilaterally negotiated legally binding instrument or a framework encompassing a mutually reinforcing set of instruments;

Requests the Secretary-General, within existing resources, to compile a report on the implementation of the present resolution;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session an item entitled “Towards a nuclear-weapon-free world: the need for a new agenda”, and to review the implementation of the present resolution.

Z

Welcomes the entry into force of the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, signed in Moscow on 31 July 1991 by the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America,57 including the Protocol to that Treaty signed at Lisbon on 23 May 1992 by the parties thereto, and the exchange of documents of ratification between Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the United States of America on 5 December 1994 at Budapest;

Also welcomes the signing of the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States of America on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms in Moscow on 3 January 1993,52 and urges the parties to take the steps necessary to bring that Treaty into force at the earliest possible date;

Expresses its satisfaction at the reductions of strategic offensive arms being carried out in accordance with the 1991 Treaty as well as the advice and consent of the Senate of the United States of America to the 1993 Treaty in January 1996, and expresses its hope that it will soon be possible for the Russian Federation to take corresponding steps to ratify that Treaty and for the United States Senate and the State Duma of the Russian Federation to approve the Protocol to the 1993 Treaty and other documents signed on 26 September 1997, so that START II can enter into force;

Expresses further satisfaction at the continuing implementation of the Treaty between the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics and the United States of America on the Elimination of Their Intermediate-Range and Shorter-Range Missiles,64 in particular at the completion by the parties of the destruction of all their declared missiles subject to elimination under the Treaty;

Welcomes the removal of all nuclear weapons from the territory of Kazakhstan as from 1 June 1995, from the territory of Ukraine as from 1 June 1996, and from the territory of Belarus as from 30 November 1996;

Encourages Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the United States of America to continue their cooperative efforts aimed at eliminating strategic offensive arms on the basis of existing agreements, and welcomes the contributions that other States are making to such cooperation as well;

Welcomes the participation in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons2 of Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine as non-nuclear-weapon States, which thereby provided notable enhancement of the non-proliferation regime;

Welcomes the initiative signed by Presidents Yeltsin and Clinton on 2 September 1998, contained in the joint statement on the exchange of information on missile launches and early warning, to exchange information on the ballistic missiles and space launch vehicles derived from each side's missile launch warning system, including the possible establishment of a centre for the exchange of missile launch data operated by the Russian Federation and the United States of America and separate from their respective national centres, and takes note of the initiative to examine bilaterally the possibility of establishing a multilateral ballistic missile and space launch vehicle pre-launch notification regime in which other States could voluntarily participate;

Welcomes the September 1998 pledge by the Russian Federation and the United States of America to remove by stages approximately fifty metric tons of plutonium from each of their nuclear weapons programmes, and to convert this material so that it can never be used in nuclear weapons;

Urges the Russian Federation and the United States of America to commence negotiations on a START III agreement immediately after ratification by the Russian Federation of START II, thereby fulfilling the commitments they undertook in the joint statement issued in Moscow on 2 September 1998;

Encourages and supports the Russian Federation and the United States of America in their efforts aimed at reducing and eliminating their nuclear weapons on the basis of existing agreements and to continue to give those efforts the highest priority in order to contribute to the ultimate goal of eliminating those weapons;

Invites the Russian Federation and the United States of America to keep other States Members of the United Nations duly informed of progress in their discussions and in the implementation of their strategic offensive arms agreements and unilateral decisions.

AA

Convening of the fourth special session of the General Assembly

devoted to disarmament

Decides, subject to the emergence of a consensus on its objectives and agenda, to convene the fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament;

Endorses the report of the Disarmament Commission on its 1998 substantive session,68 and recommends that an item entitled “Fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament” be included in the agenda of the Commission at its 1999 session, which should promote agreement on the agenda and timing of the special session;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “Convening of the fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament” and, subject to the outcome of the deliberations at the 1999 substantive session of the Disarmament Commission, to set an exact date for and to decide on organizational matters relating to the convening of the special session.

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