Review and Implementation of the Concluding Document of the 12th Special Session of the General Resolutions

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 74 Review and implementation of the concluding document of the 12th special session of the General Assembly, published in 2001.

What’s in this document?

73 operative paragraphs

A

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Disarmament Information Programme;2

Commends the Secretary-General for his efforts to make effective use of the limited resources available to him in disseminating as widely as possible, including by electronic means, information on arms limitation and disarmament to Governments, the media, non-governmental organizations, educational communities and research institutes, and in carrying out a seminar and conference programme;

Stresses the importance of the Programme, as a significant instrument in enabling all Member States to participate fully in the deliberations and negotiations on disarmament in the various United Nations bodies, and in assisting them in complying with treaties, as required, and in contributing to agreed mechanisms for transparency;

Notes with appreciation the cooperation of the Department of Public Information of the Secretariat and its information centres in pursuit of the objectives of the Programme;

Recommends that the Programme focus its efforts:

To inform, to educate and to generate public understanding of the importance of multilateral action and support for it, including action by the United Nations and the Conference on Disarmament, in the field of arms limitation and disarmament, in a factual, balanced and objective manner, and, inter alia, to continue to publish in all official languages The United Nations Disarmament Yearbook, periodic hard copy and regular electronic updates of the Status of Multilateral Arms Regulation and Disarmament Agreements and ad hoc publications in hard copy and electronic form;

To continue to coordinate, produce and manage the disarmament Internet web site as a part of the United Nations web site with a view to maintaining an updated source of accessible information, and, within available resources, to produce versions of the site in as many official languages as feasible;

To continue to intensify United Nations interaction with the public, principally non-governmental organizations and research institutes, to help further an informed debate on topical issues of arms limitation, disarmament and security;

To continue to organize discussions on topics of interest in the field of arms limitation and disarmament with a view to broadening understanding and facilitating an exchange of views and information among Member States and civil society;

Emphasizes the importance of contributions to the Voluntary Trust Fund for the United Nations Disarmament Information Programme to sustain a strong outreach programme, and invites all Member States to make contributions to the Fund;

Commends the Secretary-General for supporting the efforts of universities, other academic institutions and non-governmental organizations active in the education field in widening the worldwide availability of disarmament education, invites him to continue to support and cooperate with educational institutions and non-governmental organizations engaged in such efforts, without cost to the regular budget to the United Nations, and takes note of the proposal made by the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters in July 2000 for a study on disarmament and non-proliferation education;⁴

⁴See A/55/349, para. 24.

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session a report covering both the implementation of the activities of the Programme by the United Nations system during the two previous years and the activities of the Programme contemplated by the system for the following two years;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-seventh session the item entitled “United Nations Disarmament Information Programme”.

B

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General on regional confidence-building measures, which deals with the activities of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa in the period since the adoption by the General Assembly of resolution 54/55 A;⁹

⁹A/55/170.

Reaffirms its support for efforts aimed at promoting confidence-building measures at regional and subregional levels in order to ease tensions and conflicts in Central Africa and to further peace, stability and sustainable development in the subregion;

Also reaffirms its support for the programme of work of the Standing Advisory Committee adopted at the organizational meeting of the Committee, held at Yaoundé from 27 to 31 July 1992;

Notes with satisfaction the progress made by the States members of the Standing Advisory Committee in implementing the programme of activities for the period 1999-2000, in particular by:

Holding the Subregional Conference on the Proliferation of and Illicit Traffic in Small Arms in Central Africa at N’Djamena from 25 to 27 October 1999;

Holding the twelfth ministerial meeting of the Standing Advisory Committee at N’Djamena from 27 to 30 October 1999;

Holding a meeting of experts of the countries of the subregion to draft the Protocol on the Council for Peace and Security in Central Africa and the Mutual Assistance Pact between countries of Central Africa at Malabo from 14 to 17 February 2000;

Holding the thirteenth ministerial meeting of the Standing Advisory Committee at N’Djamena from 2 to 6 May 2000;

Holding the Subregional Conference on the Question of Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons in Central Africa at Bujumbura from 14 to 16 August 2000;

Holding the fourteenth ministerial meeting of the Standing Advisory Committee at Bujumbura from 17 to 19 August 2000;

Emphasizes the importance of providing the States members of the Standing Advisory Committee with the essential support they need to carry out the full programme of activities which they adopted at their ministerial meetings;

Welcomes the creation of a mechanism for the promotion, maintenance and consolidation of peace and security in Central Africa, to be known as the Council for Peace and Security in Central Africa, by the summit Conference of Heads of State and Government of the Central African countries, held at Yaoundé on 25 February 1999, and requests the Secretary-General to give his full support to the effective realization of that important mechanism;

Emphasizes the need to make the early-warning mechanism in Central Africa operational so that it will serve, on the one hand, as an instrument for analysing and monitoring political situations in the States members of the Standing Advisory Committee with a view to preventing the outbreak of future armed conflicts and, on the other hand, as a technical body through which the member States will carry out the programme of work of the Committee, adopted at its organizational meeting held at Yaoundé in 1992, and requests the Secretary-General to provide it with the assistance necessary for it to function properly;

Requests the Secretary-General and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights to continue to lend all their support to the effective establishment and smooth functioning of the Subregional Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa;

Requests the Secretary-General, pursuant to Security Council resolution 1197 (1998), to provide the States members of the Standing Advisory Committee with the necessary support for the implementation and smooth functioning of the early-warning mechanism and the Council for Peace and Security in Central Africa;

Also requests the Secretary-General to support the establishment of a network of parliamentarians with a view to the creation of a subregional parliament in Central Africa;

Requests the Secretary-General and the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to continue to provide increased assistance to the countries of Central Africa for coping with the problems of refugees in their territories;

Welcomes with satisfaction the decision taken by the Standing Advisory Committee at its fourteenth ministerial meeting to organize a subregional conference on the protection of women and children in armed conflicts, and requests the Secretary-General to lend all the necessary support for the holding of the conference;

Thanks the Secretary-General for having established the Trust Fund for the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa;

Appeals to Member States and to governmental and non-governmental organizations to make additional voluntary contributions to the Trust Fund for the implementation of the programme of work of the Standing Advisory Committee;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide the States members of the Standing Advisory Committee with assistance to ensure that they are able to carry on their efforts;

Also 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 “Regional confidence-building measures: activities of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa”.

C

Reaffirms its decisions contained in annex IV to the Concluding Document of the Twelfth Special Session of the General Assembly11 and the report of the Secretary-General¹³ approved by the Assembly in its resolution 33/71 E of 14 December 1978;

¹³A/33/305.

Expresses its appreciation to the Governments of Germany and Japan for inviting the 1999 and 2000 fellows to study selected activities in the field of disarmament, and to the Government of the United States of America for having organized in 1999 a specific study programme in the field of disarmament thereby contributing to the fulfilment of the overall objectives of the programme;

Expresses its appreciation also to the International Atomic Energy Agency, the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization and the Monterey Institute of International Studies for having organized specific study programmes in the field of disarmament in their respective areas of competence, thereby contributing to the objectives of the programme;

Commends the Secretary-General for the diligence with which the programme has continued to be carried out;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to implement annually the Geneva-based programme within existing resources and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-seventh session the item entitled “United Nations disarmament fellowship, training and advisory services”.

D

Takes note of the report of the Secretary-General,¹⁵ and commends the activities carried out by the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa, in particular in support of the efforts made by the African States in the areas of peace and security;

¹⁵A/55/171.

Reaffirms its strong support for the revitalization of the Regional Centre, and emphasizes the need to provide it with resources to enable it to strengthen its activities and carry out its programmes;

Appeals once again to all States, as well as to international governmental and non-governmental organizations and the foundations, to make voluntary contributions in order to strengthen the programmes and activities of the Regional Centre and facilitate their implementation;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to provide all necessary support, within existing resources, to the Regional Centre for better achievements and results;

Also requests the Secretary-General to facilitate the establishment of close cooperation between the Regional Centre and the Organization of African Unity, in particular in the area of peace, security and development, and to continue to assist the Director of the Regional Centre in his efforts to stabilize the financial situation of the Centre and revitalize its activities;

Further 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 the item entitled “United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Africa”.

E

Reiterates its strong support for the role of the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean in the promotion of United Nations activities at the regional level to strengthen peace, stability, security and development among its member States;

Expresses its satisfaction with the vast range of activities carried out by the Regional Centre in the last year;

Expresses its appreciation for the political support and financial contributions to the Regional Centre, which are essential for its continued operation;

Invites all States of the region to take part in the activities of the Regional Centre, proposing items for inclusion in its agenda, making greater and better use of the Centre’s potential to meet the current challenges facing the international community and with a view to fulfilling the aims of the Charter of the United Nations in the fields of peace, disarmament and development;

Appeals to Member States, in particular the States of the Latin American and Caribbean region, and to international governmental and non-governmental organizations and to foundations, to make voluntary contributions to strengthen the Regional Centre, its programme of activities and the implementation thereof;

Requests the Secretary-General to provide the Regional Centre with all necessary support within existing resources, so that it may carry out its programme of activities and achieve better results;

Also 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 the item entitled “United Nations Regional Centre for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean”.

F

Reiterates the importance of the United Nations activities at the regional level to increase the stability and security of its Member States, which could be promoted in a substantive manner by the maintenance and revitalization of the three regional centres for peace and disarmament;

Reaffirms that, in order to achieve positive results, it is useful for the three regional centres to carry out dissemination and educational programmes that promote regional peace and security aimed at changing basic attitudes with respect to peace and security and disarmament so as to support the achievement of the purposes and principles of the United Nations;

Appeals to Member States in each region and those that are able to do so, as well as to international governmental and non-governmental organizations and foundations, to make voluntary contributions to the regional centres in their respective regions to strengthen their programmes of activities and implementation;

Requests the Secretary-General to provide all necessary support, within existing resources, to the regional centres in carrying out their programmes of activities;

Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-sixth session the item entitled “United Nations regional centres for peace and disarmament”.

G

Reiterates its request to the Conference on Disarmament to commence negotiations in order to reach agreement on an international convention prohibiting the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons under any circumstances;

Requests the Conference on Disarmament to report to the General Assembly on the results of those negotiations.

H

Reaffirms its strong support for the forthcoming operation and further strengthening of the United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific;

Underlines the importance of the Kathmandu process as a powerful vehicle for the development of the practice of region-wide security and disarmament dialogue;

Expresses its appreciation for the continuing political support and financial contributions to the Regional Centre, which are essential for its continued operation;

Appeals to Member States, in particular those within the Asia-Pacific region, as well as to international governmental and non-governmental organizations and foundations, to make voluntary contributions, the only resources of the Regional Centre, to strengthen the programme of activities of the Centre and the implementation thereof;

Requests the Secretary-General, taking note of paragraph 6 of General Assembly resolution 49/76 D of 15 December 1994, to provide the Regional Centre with the necessary support, within existing resources, in carrying out its programme of activities;

Expresses its appreciation for the generous offer of His Majesty’s Government of Nepal to bear the operational cost of the Centre for it to function from Kathmandu;

Requests the Secretary-General to expedite his ongoing consultations with other concerned Member States and interested organizations, and urges him to conclude them by 31 July 2001 to assess the possibility of enabling the Centre to operate effectively from Kathmandu as soon as possible;

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 the item entitled “United Nations Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific”.

Review and Implementation of the Concluding Document of the 12th Special Session of the General Resolutions

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

A

B

C

D

E

F

G

H

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