Ethical Imperatives for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World

A/RES/74/47No PDF available

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 98ffEthical imperatives for a nuclear-weapon-free world, published in 2019.

What other versions does this mandate have?

11 versions · 2015–2025

This is an older version — the most recent is A/RES/80/51

2025A/RES/80/51Ethical imperatives for a nuclear-weapon-free worldLatestCompare with previous version
2024A/RES/79/36Ethical imperatives for a nuclear-weapon-free worldCompare with previous version
2023A/RES/78/41Ethical imperatives for a nuclear-weapon-free worldCompare with previous version
2022A/RES/77/67Ethical imperatives for a nuclear-weapon-free worldCompare with previous version
2021A/RES/76/25Ethical imperatives for a nuclear-weapon-free worldCompare with previous version

Versions are identified automatically by matching titles within the same organ (~97% accuracy on a manual audit).

What subjects does this mandate have?

3 topics

Ethics Nuclear Disarmament Nuclear Non-Proliferation

What does this mandate say?

15 operative paragraphs

Calls upon all States to acknowledge the catastrophic humanitarian consequences and risks posed by a nuclear weapon detonation, whether by accident, miscalculation or design;

Acknowledges the ethical imperatives for nuclear disarmament and the urgency of achieving and maintaining a nuclear-weapon-free world, which is a “global public good of the highest order”, serving both national and collective security interests;

Declares that:

The global threat posed by nuclear weapons must urgently be eliminated;

Discussions, decisions and actions on nuclear weapons must focus on the effects of these weapons on human beings and the environment and must be guided by the unspeakable suffering and unacceptable harm that they cause;

Greater attention must be given to the impact of a nuclear weapon detonation on women and the importance of their participation in discussions, decisions and actions on nuclear weapons;

Nuclear weapons serve to undermine collective security, heighten the risk of nuclear catastrophe, aggravate international tension and make conflict more dangerous;

Arguments in favour of the retention of nuclear weapons have a negative impact on the credibility of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime;

The long-term plans for the modernization of nuclear weapons arsenals run contrary to commitments and obligations to nuclear disarmament and engender perceptions of the indefinite possession of these weapons;

In a world where basic human needs have not yet been met, the vast resources allocated to the modernization of nuclear weapons arsenals could instead be redirected to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals;

Given the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, it is inconceivable that any use of nuclear weapons, irrespective of the cause, would be compatible with the requirements of international humanitarian law or international law, or the laws of morality, or the dictates of public conscience;

Given their indiscriminate nature and potential to annihilate humanity, nuclear weapons are inherently immoral;

Notes that all responsible States have a solemn duty to take decisions that serve to protect their people and each other from the ravages of a nuclear weapon detonation, and that the only way for States to do so is through the total elimination of nuclear weapons;

Stresses that all States share an ethical responsibility to act with urgency and determination, with the support of all relevant stakeholders, to take the effective measures, including legally binding measures, necessary to eliminate and prohibit all nuclear weapons, given their catastrophic humanitarian consequences and associated risks;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-fifth session, under the item entitled “General and complete disarmament”, the sub-item entitled “Ethical imperatives for a nuclear-weapon-free world”.

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