Nuclear War Effects and Scientific Research

A/RES/79/238View PDF

Who created this mandate?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 98General and complete disarmament, published in 2024.

Who cites this mandate in the budget?

1 entity

Extracted automatically from each entity’s budget submission.

What subjects does this mandate have?

4 topics

Nuclear Disarmament Nuclear Non-Proliferation Nuclear War Scientific Research

What does this mandate say?

13 operative paragraphs

Calls upon all States to renew their commitment to nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, given the devastation that would be visited upon humankind by a nuclear war;

Decides to establish an independent Scientific Panel on the Effects of Nuclear War, consisting of 21 members, participating in their personal capacity, to be appointed by the Secretary-General on the basis of a public call for candidates, with a Chair selected from among this group, and encourages nominations from Member States, scientific and academic institutions, and from qualified individuals with specific expertise related to the work of the Panel;

Also decides that the Panel shall be tasked with examining the physical effects and societal consequences of a nuclear war on a local, regional and planetary scale, including, inter alia, the climatic, environmental and radiological effects, and their impacts on public health, global socioeconomic systems, agriculture and ecosystems, in the days, weeks and decades following a nuclear war, and that it shall review and commission relevant studies, including modelling where appropriate, and publish a comprehensive report, make key conclusions and identify areas requiring future research;

Requests the Secretary-General to convene the Panel and provide full support to it in the fulfilment of its mandate, with the Panel members, participating on a voluntary basis, to be selected by the Secretary-General drawing on the expertise of relevant United Nations agencies, on the basis of their leading scientific expertise across relevant disciplines, while ensuring impartiality, and equitable geographical and gender balance;

Decides that the members of the Panel shall meet virtually at least quarterly to advance their work, with participation arrangements facilitated by the Secretary-General, keeping Member States periodically updated on progress, while maintaining their objectivity and impartiality, and operating free from political influence, on the basis of scientific peer review, drawing on lessons learned from other international expert mechanisms;

Calls upon the Panel to consult with the widest range of scientists and experts, and for the Secretary-General to facilitate those consultations, including through the provision, as required, of virtual meeting spaces, webcast and meeting room facilities at United Nations premises, for up to 10 days in 2025, and a further 10 days in 2026, and encourages these experts to contribute presentations, written reports and published material to assist the Panel in its work;

Calls upon the United Nations system and relevant agencies, including the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, the United Nations Scientific Committee on the Effects of Atomic Radiation, the World Health Organization, the United Nations Environment Programme, the World Meteorological Organization, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs of the Secretariat, the World Food Programme, the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations, the World Trade Organization and others, to support the work of the Panel, including by contributing expertise, commissioned studies, data and papers;

Encourages Member States, relevant international and regional organizations and others to support the work of the Panel, including by providing relevant information, scientific data and analyses; facilitating and hosting Panel meetings, including regional meetings; and making voluntary budgetary contributions, or in-kind contributions;

Decides that the Panel shall engage and receive inputs from the widest possible range of stakeholders, including international and regional organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross, civil society, affected communities, and peoples from around the world, in order to understand local, regional and global perspectives on the effects of a nuclear war;

Also decides that the present resolution shall serve as the terms of reference of the Panel;

Further decides to include in the provisional agenda of its eightieth session, under the item entitled “General and complete disarmament”, a sub-item entitled “Nuclear war effects and scientific research”;

Requests the Chair of the Panel to brief the General Assembly at its eightieth and eighty-first sessions on progress in the work of the Panel;

Decides to consider the final report of the Panel on nuclear war effects at its eighty-second session, in 2027.

55th (resumed) plenary meeting

24 December 2024

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