General and Complete Disarmament Resolutions

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 73 General and complete disarmament, published in 2001.

What else is in this group?

239 documents · 1960–2002

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

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2002	A/RES/56/24	General and complete disarmament resolutions	14,237	–
2001	A/RES/55/33	General and complete disarmament resolutions	16,682	–
2000	A/RES/54/54	General and complete disarmament resolutions	15,691	–
1999	A/RES/53/77	General and complete disarmament resolutions	17,006	–
1998	A/RES/52/38	General and complete disarmament	11,793	–

This group bundles related documents that are not individually ordered.

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report · 2010

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2010	A/65/127	Missiles report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/55/33

What subjects does this mandate have?

6 subjects

Arms Limitation Disarmament Disarmament Agreements Illicit Arms Trafficking Nuclear Disarmament Weapons of Mass Destruction

What’s in this document?

204 operative paragraphs

A

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General, submitted pursuant to resolution 54/54 F,²

²A/55/116 and Add.1.

Requests the Secretary-General further to seek the views of Member States on the issue of missiles in all its aspects and to submit a report to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session;

Also requests the Secretary-General, with the assistance of a panel of governmental experts to be established in 2001 on the basis of equitable geographical distribution, to prepare a report for the consideration of the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session on the issue of missiles in all its aspects;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-sixth session the item entitled “Missiles”.

B

Calls for continued efforts to strengthen the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems2 and to preserve its integrity and validity so that it remains a cornerstone in maintaining global strategic stability and world peace and in promoting further strategic nuclear arms reductions;

Calls also for renewed efforts by each of the States parties to preserve and strengthen the Treaty through full and strict compliance;

Calls upon the parties to the Treaty, in accordance with their obligations under the Treaty, to limit the deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems, to refrain from the deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems for the defence of the territory of their country, not to provide a base for such a defence and not to transfer to other States or deploy outside their national territory anti-ballistic missile systems or their components limited by the Treaty;

Considers that the implementation of any measure undermining the purposes and the provisions of the Treaty also undermines global strategic stability and world peace and the promotion of further strategic nuclear arms reductions;

Urges all Member States to support efforts aimed at stemming the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery;

Supports further efforts by the international community, in the light of emerging developments, towards safeguarding the inviolability and integrity of the Treaty, which is in the strongest interest of the international community;

Welcomes the decision taken by the United States of America on 1 September 2000 not to authorize deployment of a national missile defence at this time, and considers that it constitutes a positive step for the preservation of strategic stability and security;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-sixth session the item entitled “Preservation of and compliance with the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems”.

C

Agrees on the importance and urgency of signatures and ratifications, without delay and without conditions and in accordance with constitutional processes, to achieve the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty;¹¹

¹¹See resolution 50/245.

Calls for the upholding of a moratorium on nuclear-weapon-test explosions or any other nuclear explosions pending entry into force of the above-mentioned Treaty;

Agrees on the necessity for 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, in accordance with the report of the Special Coordinator of 1995¹² and the mandate contained therein, taking into consideration both nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation objectives, and urges the Conference on Disarmament to agree on a programme of work which includes the immediate commencement of negotiations on such a treaty, with a view to their conclusion within five years;

¹²CD/1299.

Agrees also on the necessity of establishing within the context of the Conference on Disarmament an appropriate subsidiary body with a mandate to deal with nuclear disarmament, and urges the Conference to agree on a programme of work which includes the immediate establishment of such a body;

Calls for the principle of irreversibility to apply to nuclear disarmament, nuclear and other related arms control and reduction measures;

Calls also for the early entry into force and full implementation of the Treaty on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START II)5 and the conclusion of START III as soon as possible, while preserving and strengthening the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems2 as a cornerstone of strategic stability and as a basis for further reductions of strategic offensive weapons, in accordance with the provisions of that Treaty;

Calls further for the completion and implementation of the Trilateral Initiative between the United States of America, the Russian Federation and the International Atomic Energy Agency;

Calls for steps to be taken by all nuclear-weapon States that would lead to nuclear disarmament in a way that promotes international stability and, based upon the principle of undiminished security for all, for:

Further efforts to be made by the nuclear-weapon States to reduce their nuclear arsenals unilaterally;

Increased transparency by the nuclear-weapon States with regard to nuclear weapons capabilities, and the implementation of agreements pursuant to article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons3 and as a voluntary confidence-building measure to support further progress in nuclear disarmament;

The further reduction of non-strategic nuclear weapons, based on unilateral initiatives and as an integral part of the nuclear arms reduction and disarmament process;

Concrete agreed measures to reduce further the operational status of nuclear weapons systems;

A diminishing role for nuclear weapons in security policies so as to minimize the risk that these weapons will ever be used and to facilitate the process of their total elimination;

The engagement, as soon as appropriate, of all the nuclear-weapon States in the process leading to the total elimination of their nuclear weapons;

Calls also for arrangements by all nuclear-weapon States to place, as soon as practicable, the fissile material designated by each of them as no longer required for military purposes under International Atomic Energy Agency or other relevant international verification and arrangements for the disposition of such material for peaceful purposes in order to ensure that such material remains permanently outside military programmes;

Reaffirms that the ultimate objective of the efforts of States in the disarmament process is general and complete disarmament under effective international control;

Calls for regular reports, within the framework of the strengthened review process for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, by all States parties on the implementation of article VI of the Treaty and paragraph 4 (c) of the decision on principles and objectives for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament of the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty,9 and, in this regard, recalls the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice of 8 July 1996;4

Agrees to pursue the further development of the verification capabilities that will be required to provide assurance of compliance with nuclear disarmament agreements for the achievement and maintenance of a nuclear-weapon-free world;

Calls upon all States not yet party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to accede to the Treaty as non-nuclear-weapon States, promptly and without condition, in particular those States that operate unsafeguarded nuclear facilities, and also calls upon those States to bring into force the required comprehensive safeguards agreements, together with additional protocols, consistent with the Model Protocol Additional to the Agreement(s) between State(s) and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards approved by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency on 15 May 1997,¹³ for ensuring nuclear non-proliferation, and to reverse clearly and urgently any policies to pursue any nuclear weapons development or deployment and refrain from any action that 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;

¹³International Atomic Energy Agency, INFCIRC/540 (Corrected).

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;

Notes the paramount importance of effective physical protection of all nuclear material, and calls upon all States to maintain the highest possible standards of security and physical protection of nuclear materials;

Notes also that the 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons agreed that legally binding security assurances by the five nuclear-weapon States to the non-nuclear-weapon States parties to the Treaty strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime, and that it called upon the Preparatory Committee to make recommendations on this issue to the 2005 Review Conference;¹⁴

¹⁴2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document, vol. I (NPT/CONF.2000/28 (Parts I and II)), part I, art. VII, para. 2.

Reaffirms the conviction that the establishment of internationally recognized nuclear-weapon-free zones on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at among the States of the region concerned enhances global and regional peace and security, strengthens the nuclear non-proliferation regime and contributes towards realizing the objective of nuclear disarmament, and supports proposals for the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones where they do not yet exist, such as in the Middle East and South Asia;

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

Acknowledges the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of General Assembly resolution 54/54 G,¹⁵ and requests him, within existing resources, to prepare a report on the implementation of the present resolution;

¹⁵A/55/217.

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

D

Welcomes the adoption by consensus on 19 May 2000 of the Final Document of the 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,7 including in particular the documents entitled “Review of the operation of the Treaty, taking into account the decisions and the resolution adopted by the 1995 Review and Extension Conference” and “Improving the effectiveness of the strengthened review process for the Treaty”.¹⁸

¹⁸2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document, vol. I (NPT/CONF.2000/28 (Parts I and II)), part I.

E

Requests the Secretary-General to prepare, with the assistance of a group of qualified governmental experts, a study on disarmament and non-proliferation, that would have the following aims:

To define contemporary disarmament and non-proliferation education and training, taking into account the need to promote a culture of non-violence and peace;

To assess the current situation of disarmament and non-proliferation education and training at the primary, secondary, university and postgraduate levels of education, in all regions of the world;

To recommend ways to promote education and training in disarmament and non-proliferation at all levels of formal and informal education, in particular the training of educators, parliamentarians, municipal leaders, military officers and government officials;

To examine ways to utilize more fully evolving pedagogic methods, particularly the revolution in information and communications technology, including distance learning, to enhance efforts in disarmament education and training at all levels, in the developed and the developing world;

To recommend ways in which organizations of the United Nations system with special competence in disarmament or education or both can harmonize and coordinate their efforts in disarmament and non-proliferation education;

To devise ways to introduce disarmament and non-proliferation education into post-conflict situations as a contribution to peace-building;

and considers that the group of experts should invite representatives of organizations of the United Nations system with special competence in disarmament or education or both to participate in its work, and should also invite university educators, disarmament and peace-related institutes and non-governmental organizations that have special qualifications in education and training or in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation to make written and oral presentations to it;

Also requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session on this question.

F

Welcomes with satisfaction the Declaration of the Ministerial Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa, held at Abuja on 8 and 9 May 2000, encourages the Secretary-General to continue his efforts, in the context of the implementation of General Assembly resolution 49/75 G of 15 December 1994 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;

Encourages the setting up in the countries in 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;

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 1998,²⁴ and urges the international community to give its support to the implementation of the moratorium;

²⁴A/53/763-S/1998/1194, annex.

Recommends the involvement of organizations and associations of civil society in efforts to combat the illicit circulation of small arms in the context of the national commissions and their participation in the implementation of the moratorium on the importation, exportation and manufacture of small arms;

Takes note of the conclusions of the meeting of Ministers for Foreign Affairs of the Economic Community of West African States, held at Bamako on 24 and 25 March 1999, on the modalities for the implementation of the Programme for Coordination and Assistance for Security and Development, and welcomes the adoption by the meeting of a plan of action;

Expresses its full support for the appeal launched by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity at its thirty-fifth ordinary session for a coordinated African approach, under the auspices of the Organization of African Unity, to the problems posed by the proliferation, illicit circulation of and traffic in small arms, bearing in mind the experiences and activities of the various regions in this regard;²⁵

²⁵A/54/424, annex II, decision AHG/Dec.137 (XXXV), para. 10.

Encourages cooperation among State bodies, international organizations and civil society in combating the illicit circulation of small arms and supporting operations at the subregional level;

Expresses its full support for the convening of a United Nations conference on the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects in June/July 2001, in accordance with General Assembly resolution 54/54 V of 15 December 1999;

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

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

G

Stresses, in the context of the present resolution, the particular relevance of the “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”,²⁸ adopted by the Disarmament Commission by consensus at its 1999 substantive session;

²⁸Ibid., Fifty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 42 (A/54/42), annex III.

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the consolidation of peace through practical disarmament measures, submitted pursuant to resolution 51/45 N,²⁹ and once again encourages Member States, as well as regional arrangements and agencies, to lend their support to the implementation of the recommendations contained therein;

²⁹A/52/289.

Welcomes the activities undertaken by the group of interested States that was formed in New York in March 1998, and invites the group 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-sixth session the item entitled “Consolidation of peace through practical disarmament measures”.

H

Emphasizes the necessity of universal adherence to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction,29 and calls upon all States that have not yet done so to become parties to the Convention without delay;

Notes with appreciation the ongoing work of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons to achieve the objective and purpose of the Convention, 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;

Also stresses 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;

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 cooperation between the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons and the signature of the 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-sixth 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”.

I

Welcomes the continued contribution that the Antarctic36 and the treaties of Tlatelolco,32 Rarotonga,33 Bangkok34 and Pelindaba35 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 States of the region concerned, 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 its resolutions on the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones in the Middle East and South Asia;

Convinced of 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 and to work for the total elimination of 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;

Welcomes the vigorous efforts being made among States parties and signatories to those treaties to promote their common objectives, and considers that an international conference of States parties and signatories to the nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties might be held to support the common goals envisaged in those treaties;

Encourages the competent authorities of the 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-sixth session the item entitled “Nuclear-weapon-free southern hemisphere and adjacent areas”.

J

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;

Notes with appreciation the recent withdrawal of reservations by two State parties to the Geneva Protocol;⁴⁰

⁴⁰See A/55/115 and Add.1.

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-seventh session a report on the implementation of the present resolution.

K

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;⁴¹

⁴¹See A/55/129.

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-sixth session;

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

L

Calls upon the high-level Steering Group on Disarmament and Development to strengthen and enhance its programme of activities, in accordance with the mandate set out in the action programme adopted at the International Conference on the Relationship between Disarmament and Development;⁴⁶

⁴⁶United Nations publication, Sales No. E.87.IX.8, para. 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 2001, 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-sixth session;

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

M

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;

Requests the Secretary-General to seek the views of States Members of the United Nations on the objectives, agenda and timing of the special session and to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-sixth session the item entitled “Convening of the fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament”.

N

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 take 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 objective of eliminating nuclear weapons;

Takes note of the report⁴⁹ prepared by the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters and submitted by the Secretary-General in pursuance of paragraph 4 of General Assembly resolution 54/54 K of 1 December 1999, including the need for the Board to continue its discussions on the subject;

⁴⁹See A/55/324.

Requests the Secretary-General, within existing resources, to continue to seek inputs from the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters on information with regard to specific measures that would significantly reduce the risk of nuclear war, including the proposal contained in the United Nations Millennium Declaration for convening an international conference to identify ways of eliminating nuclear dangers, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-sixth session;

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

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-sixth 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-sixth session the item entitled “Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels”.

Q

Requests the Secretary-General to continue his broad-based consultations, within available financial resources and with any other assistance provided by States in a position to do so, and to provide the 2001 United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects with information on the magnitude and scope of illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons, measures to combat illicit trafficking in and circulation of small arms and light weapons, and the role of the United Nations in collecting, collating, sharing and disseminating information on illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons;

Encourages States to promote regional and subregional initiatives and requests the Secretary-General, within available financial resources, and those States in a position to do so, to assist States in undertaking such initiatives to address the illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons in affected regions, and invites the Secretary-General to utilize these initiatives as part of his consultations;

Encourages also States in a position to do so to take appropriate national measures to destroy surplus, confiscated or collected small arms and light weapons, and to provide, on a voluntary basis, information to the Secretary-General on the types and quantities of arms destroyed as well as the methods of their destruction, and requests the Secretary-General to circulate this information annually to all States;

Invites States in a position to do so to continue to provide assistance, bilaterally, regionally and through multilateral channels, such as the United Nations, in support of measures associated with combating illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons, including assistance, in response to requests by States, in collecting and destroying surplus, confiscated or collected small arms and light weapons;

Invites the Secretary-General to provide advisory and financial assistance, within available financial resources and with any other assistance provided by States in a position to do so, in response to requests by States, in support of measures associated with combating illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons, including assistance in collecting and destroying surplus, confiscated or collected small arms and light weapons;

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

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-sixth session an item entitled “Illicit trafficking in small arms and light weapons”.

R

Reaffirms the importance of achieving the universality of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,3 and calls upon States not parties to the Treaty to accede to it as non-nuclear-weapon States without delay and without conditions;

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

Stresses the central importance of taking the following practical steps for the systematic and progressive efforts to implement article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and paragraphs 3 and 4 (c) of the decision on principles and objectives for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament of the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty:9

The early signature and ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty10 by all States, especially by those States whose ratification is required for its entry into force, with a view to its early entry into force before 2003, as well as a moratorium on nuclear-weapon-test explosions or any other nuclear explosions pending its entry into force;

The immediate commencement of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament and the conclusion as early as possible before 2005 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, in accordance with the report of the Special Coordinator of 199511 and the mandate contained therein, taking into consideration both nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation objectives and, pending its entry into force, a moratorium on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons;

The establishment of an appropriate subsidiary body of the Conference on Disarmament in the context of establishing a programme of work, with a mandate to deal with nuclear disarmament;

The inclusion of the principle of irreversibility to apply to nuclear disarmament, nuclear and other related arms control and reduction measures;

The early entry into force and full implementation of the Treaty on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START II)5 and the conclusion of START III as soon as possible, while preserving and strengthening the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems of 26 May 1972 between the United States of America and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics2 as a cornerstone of strategic stability and as a basis for further reductions of strategic offensive weapons, in accordance with its provisions;

Steps by all nuclear-weapon States leading to nuclear disarmament in a way that promotes international stability, and based on the principle of undiminished security for all:

Further efforts by all nuclear-weapon States to continue to reduce their nuclear arsenals, unilaterally or through negotiation;

Increased transparency by the nuclear-weapon States with regard to their nuclear weapons capabilities and the implementation of agreements pursuant to article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and as voluntary confidence-building measures to support further progress in nuclear disarmament;

iii

The further reduction of non-strategic nuclear weapons, based on unilateral initiatives and as an integral part of the nuclear arms reduction and disarmament process;

Concrete agreed measures to reduce further the operational status of nuclear weapons systems;

A diminishing role for nuclear weapons in security policies so as to minimize the risk that these weapons will ever be used and to facilitate the process of their total elimination;

The engagement, as soon as appropriate, of all nuclear-weapon States in the process leading to the total elimination of their nuclear weapons;

Recognizes that the realization of a world free of nuclear weapons will require further steps by the nuclear-weapon States, including:

The continuation of the nuclear disarmament process beyond START III;

Deeper reductions by all nuclear-weapon States, unilaterally or through negotiation, in nuclear weapons in the process of working towards their elimination;

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, notes the importance of the safe and effective management of the resultant fissile materials and calls for arrangements by all nuclear-weapon States to place, as soon as practicable, the fissile material designated by each of them as no longer required for military purposes under the International Atomic Energy Agency or other relevant international verification and arrangements for the disposition of such material for peaceful purposes in order to ensure that such material remains permanently outside military programmes;

Stresses the importance of further development of the verification capabilities, including International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, that will be required to provide assurance of compliance with nuclear disarmament agreements for the achievement and maintenance of a nuclear-weapon-free world;

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

Also calls upon all States to maintain the highest possible standards of security, safe custody, effective control and physical protection of all materials that could contribute to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction;

Stresses the importance of the Model Protocol Additional to the Agreement(s) between State(s) and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards12 with a view to enhancing nuclear non-proliferation, and encourages all States which have not done so to conclude an additional protocol with the International Atomic Energy Agency as soon as possible;

Welcomes the adoption by the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency on 22 September 2000 of resolution GC(44)/RES/19, which contains elements of a plan of action to promote and facilitate the conclusion and entry into force of safeguards agreements and additional protocols, and calls for the early and full implementation of that resolution;

Encourages the constructive role played by civil society in promoting nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament.

S

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on the implementation of resolution 53/77 D entitled “Mongolia’s international security and nuclear-weapon-free status”;64

Takes note also of the adoption by the Mongolian parliament of legislation defining and regulating its nuclear-weapon-free status as a concrete step towards promoting the aims of nuclear non-proliferation;

Welcomes the joint statement of the five nuclear-weapon States62 providing security assurances to Mongolia in connection with its nuclear-weapon-free status as a contribution to implementing resolution 53/77 D;

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 to continue 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 continue to provide assistance to Mongolia in taking the necessary measures mentioned in paragraph 5 above;

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

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

T

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

Also recognizes that there is a genuine need to diminish the role of nuclear weapons in security policies to minimize the risk that these weapons will ever be used and to facilitate the process of their total elimination;

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 and to take other concrete measures to reduce further the operational status of their nuclear weapon systems;

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;

Calls upon the nuclear-weapon States, pending the achievement of the total elimination of nuclear weapons, to agree on an internationally and legally binding instrument on 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 non-threat of use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States;

Urges the nuclear-weapon States to commence plurilateral negotiations among themselves at an appropriate stage on further deep reductions of nuclear weapons as an effective measure of nuclear disarmament;

Underlines the importance of applying the principle of irreversibility to the process of nuclear disarmament, nuclear and other related arms control and reduction measures;

Welcomes the positive outcome of the 2000 Review Conference of the s Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the unequivocal undertaking by the nuclear-weapon States, in the Final Document of the Review Conference, to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament, to which all States parties are committed under article VI of the Treaty,8 and the reaffirmation by the States parties that the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons,13 and calls for the full and effective implementation of the steps set out in the Final Document;

Calls for the immediate commencement 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 Coordinator11 and the mandate contained therein;

Urges the Conference on Disarmament to agree on a programme of work which includes the immediate commencement of negotiations on such a treaty with a view to their conclusion within five years;

Calls for the conclusion of an international legal instrument or instruments on adequate security assurances to non-nuclear-weapon States;

Calls also for the early entry into force and strict observance of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty;10

Expresses its regret that the Conference on Disarmament was unable to establish an ad hoc committee on nuclear disarmament at its 2000 session, as called for in General Assembly resolution 54/54 P;

Reiterates its call upon the Conference on Disarmament to establish, on a priority basis, an ad hoc committee to deal with nuclear disarmament early in 2001 and to commence negotiations on a phased programme of nuclear disarmament leading to the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons;

Calls for the convening of an international conference on nuclear disarmament in all its aspects at an early date to identify and deal with concrete measures of nuclear disarmament;

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

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

U

Reaffirms its determination to ensure the effective operation of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms,68 as provided for in paragraphs 7 to 10 of resolution 46/36 L;

Endorses the report of the Secretary-General on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development and the recommendations contained therein;70

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, the recommendations contained in paragraph 64 of the 1997 report of the Secretary-General on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development⁷² and the recommendations contained in paragraph 94 of the 2000 report of the Secretary-General and the appendices and annexes thereto; 70

⁷²A/52/316 and Corr.2.

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 or 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;

Requests the Secretary-General, with the assistance of a group of governmental experts to be convened in 2003, 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 the reports of the Secretary-General on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development, with a view to a decision at its fifty-eighth session;

Requests the Secretary-General to implement the recommendations in his 2000 report on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development and 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-sixth session on progress made in implementing the present resolution;

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

V

Invites all States that have not signed the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their DestructionError: Reference source not found to accede to it without delay;

Urges all States that have signed but not ratified the Convention to ratify it without delay;

Stresses the importance of the full and effective implementation of, and compliance with, the Convention;

Urges all States parties to provide the Secretary-General with complete and timely information, as required in article 7 of the Convention, in order to promote transparency and compliance with the Convention;

Invites all States that have not ratified the Convention or acceded to it to provide, on a voluntary basis, information to make global mine action efforts more effective;

Renews its call upon all States and other relevant parties to work together to promote, support and advance the care, rehabilitation and social and economic reintegration of mine victims, mine awareness programmes, and the removal of anti-personnel mines placed throughout the world and the assurance of their destruction;

Invites and encourages all interested States, the United Nations, other relevant international organizations or institutions, regional organizations, the International Committee of the Red Cross and relevant non-governmental organizations to participate in the programme of inter-sessional work established at the First Meeting of States Parties to the Convention and further developed at the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Convention;

Welcomes the generous offer of the Government of Nicaragua to host the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Convention;

Requests the Secretary-General, in accordance with article 11, paragraph 2, of the Convention, to undertake the preparations necessary to convene the Third Meeting of States Parties to the Convention at Managua, from 18 to 21 September 2001, and, on behalf of States parties and in accordance with article 11, paragraph 4, of the Convention, to invite 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;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-sixth session the item entitled “Implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction”.

W

Notes with appreciation the support of all States for the initiative to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia;

Welcomes the desire of all five States of the Central Asian region to finalize work on the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia and the concrete steps that they have taken to that end to prepare the legal groundwork for the initiative and the progress that they have achieved in this regard;

Calls upon all 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 continue to provide assistance to the Central Asian States in the elaboration of an agreement on the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia;

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

X

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 immediately to fulfil that obligation by commencing multilateral negotiations in 2001 leading to an early conclusion of a 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-sixth session;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-sixth 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”.

Y

Recalls the decision by the Conference on Disarmament81 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 Coordinator11 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;

Urges the Conference on Disarmament to agree on a programme of work that includes the immediate commencement of negotiations on such a treaty.

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

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