General and Complete Disarmament Resolutions

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 74 General and complete disarmament, published in 2002.

What else is in this group?

239 documents · 1960–2002

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.

What’s in this document?

172 operative paragraphs

A

Calls for continued efforts to strengthen the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems1 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 ongoing dialogue between the Russian Federation and the United States of America on a new strategic framework premised on openness, mutual confidence and real opportunities for cooperation, which is of paramount importance, especially in a changing security environment, and hopes that this dialogue will successfully lead to substantial reductions in offensive nuclear forces and contribute to the maintenance of international stability;

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

B

Notes with satisfaction that the panel of governmental experts established by the Secretary-General held its first session in New York in 2001 and that it intends to convene two more sessions in 2002 in order to complete its mandate;

Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary-General submitted pursuant to resolution 55/33 A;⁴

⁴A/56/136 and Add.1 and 2.

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-seventh session;

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

C

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 report⁸ prepared by the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters and submitted by the Secretary-General in pursuance of paragraph 5 of General Assembly resolution 55/33 N of 20 November 2000, in particular the seven recommendations highlighted for further action;

⁸See A/56/400.

Requests the Secretary-General to take steps towards the implementation of the seven recommendations identified in the report of the Advisory Board 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-seventh session;

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

D

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 Member States on the objectives, agenda and timing of the special session and to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session;

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

E

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;¹⁵

¹⁵United 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 2002, 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 on the Relationship between Disarmament and Development;

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

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

F

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;15

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-seventh session;

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

G

Welcomes the continued contribution that the Antarctic Treaty,21 and the treaties of Tlatelolco,17 Rarotonga,18 Bangkok19 and Pelindaba20 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, 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 those treaties so as to facilitate the accomplishment of these goals;

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

H

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 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-seventh session the item entitled “Regional disarmament”.

I

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

Requests the Conference on Disarmament 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;

Requests the Secretary-General, in the meantime, to seek the views of Member States on the subject and to submit a report to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session;

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

J

Recalls the decision of the Conference on Disarmament25 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 Coordinator²⁷ 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;

²⁷CD/1299.

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

K

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,27 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-seventh 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”.

L

Takes note of the part of the report of the Conference on Disarmament relating to a future convention on the prohibition of radiological weapons;³⁶

³⁶Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 27 (A/54/27), chap. III, sect. E.

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-eighth 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,³⁷ 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;

³⁷See A/46/390, annex I.

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;

Appeals to all Member States that have not yet taken the necessary steps to become party to the Joint Convention on the Safety of Spent Fuel Management and on the Safety of Radioactive Waste Management34 to do so in time to attend the first Review Meeting of the Contracting Parties;

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

M

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 Destruction37 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 under 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 and Third Meetings 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 Fourth Meeting of States Parties to the Convention at Geneva from 16 to 20 September 2002, 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-seventh 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”.

N

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 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 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:⁴⁵

⁴⁵1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document, Part I (NPT/CONF.1995/32 (Part I) and Corr.2), annex, decision 2.

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 Treaty43 as well as a moratorium on nuclear-weapon-test explosions or any other nuclear explosions pending the entry into force of that Treaty;

The establishment of an ad hoc committee in the Conference on Disarmament as early as possible during its 2002 session to negotiate 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 199526 and the mandate contained therein, taking into consideration both nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation objectives, with a view to its conclusion within five years and, pending its entry into force, a moratorium on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons;

The establishment of an appropriate subsidiary body with a mandate to deal with nuclear disarmament in the Conference on Disarmament as early as possible during its 2002 session in the context of establishing a programme of work;

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

An unequivocal undertaking by the nuclear-weapon States, as agreed at the 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals, leading to nuclear disarmament, to which all States parties to the Treaty are committed under article VI of the Treaty;

Deep reductions by the Russian Federation and the United States of America in their strategic offensive arsenals, while placing great importance on the existing multilateral treaties, with a view to maintaining and strengthening strategic stability and international security;

Steps by all the 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 the nuclear-weapon States to continue to reduce their nuclear arsenals unilaterally;

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 and as voluntary confidence-building measures to support further progress on 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 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;

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

Recognizes that the realization of a world free of nuclear weapons will require further steps, including deeper reductions in nuclear weapons by all nuclear-weapon States in the process of working towards achieving 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;

Emphasizes the importance of a successful Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 2005 as the first session of the Preparatory Committee is convened in 2002;

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 the 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 and curb the proliferation of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, confirming and strengthening, if necessary, their policies not to transfer equipment, materials or technology that could contribute to the proliferation of those weapons, while ensuring that such policies are consistent with the obligations of States under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear 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 nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction in order, inter alia, to prevent those materials from falling into the hands of terrorists;

Welcomes the adoption and stresses the importance of resolution GC(45)/RES/13,33 adopted on 21 September 2001 by the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in which it is recommended that the Director General of the Agency, its Board of Governors and member States continue to consider implementing the elements of the plan of action outlined in resolution GC(44)/RES/19,⁴⁶ adopted on 22 September 2000 by the General Conference of the Agency, 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;

⁴⁶See International Atomic Energy Agency, Resolutions and Other Decisions of the General Conference, Forty-fourth Regular Session, 18–22 September 2000 (GC(44)/RES/DEC (2000)).

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

O

Takes note of the decision of the parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, following appropriate consultations, to hold the first session of the Preparatory Committee in New York from 8 to 19 April 2002;

Requests the Secretary-General to render the necessary assistance and to provide such services, including summary records, as may be required for the 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and its Preparatory Committee.

P

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”,⁵² adopted by the Disarmament Commission by consensus at its 1999 substantive session;

⁵²See Official Records of the General Assembly, 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,⁵³ and once again encourages Member States, as well as regional arrangements and agencies, to lend their support to the implementation of recommendations contained therein;

⁵³A/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;

Requests the Secretary-General to submit to the General Assembly at its fifty-seventh session a report on the implementation of the present resolution, taking into consideration the activities of the group of interested States in this regard;

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

Q

Reaffirms its determination to ensure the effective operation of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms,53 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, the recommendations contained in paragraph 64 of the 1997 report of the Secretary-General on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development⁵⁶ and the recommendations contained in paragraph 94 of the 2000 report of the Secretary-General and the appendices and annexes thereto;⁵⁷

⁵⁶A/52/316 and Corr.2.

⁵⁷A/55/281.

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;

Also requests the Secretary-General to implement the recommendations contained 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-seventh session on progress made in implementing the present resolution;

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

R

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 nuclearweapon 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 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,⁶² 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,⁶³ and calls for the full and effective implementation of the steps set out in the Final Document;

⁶²2000 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. VI, para. 15:6.

⁶³Ibid., art. VII, para. 2.

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 Coordinator26 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;43

Expresses its regret that the Conference on Disarmament was unable to establish an ad hoc committee on nuclear disarmament at its 2001 session, as called for in General Assembly resolution 55/33 T;

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 2002 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-seventh session a report on the implementation of the present resolution;

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

S

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 2002 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-seventh session;

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

T

Reaffirms multilateralism as a core principle in negotiations in the area of disarmament and non-proliferation with a view to maintaining and strengthening universal norms and enlarging their scope;

Emphasizes that progress is urgently needed in the area of disarmament and non-proliferation in order to help maintain international peace and security and to contribute to global efforts against terrorism;

Calls upon all Member States to renew and fulfil their individual and collective commitments to multilateral cooperation as an important means of pursuing and achieving their common objectives in the area of disarmament and non-proliferation.

U

Notes with satisfaction the Declaration of the Ministerial Conference on Security, Stability, Development and Cooperation in Africa, held in Abuja on 8 and 9 May 2000,⁷² encourages the Secretary-General to pursue his action in the context of the implementation of resolution 49/75 G of 15 December 1994 and of the recommendations of the United Nations advisory missions, aimed at curbing the illicit circulation of small arms and collecting 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;

⁷²A/55/286, annex II, decision AHG/Decl. 4 (XXXVI).

Encourages the establishment in the countries of the Sahelo-Saharan subregion of national commissions to combat the proliferation of small arms, and invites the international community to lend its support wherever possible to ensure the smooth functioning of the said commissions;

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 in Abuja on 31 October 1998,⁷³ and encourages the international community to support the implementation of the said moratorium;

⁷³A/53/763-S/1998/1194, annex.

Encourages the involvement of civil society organizations and associations in the efforts of the national committees to combat the illicit traffic in small arms and their participation in the implementation of the moratorium on the importation, exportation and manufacture of small arms and light weapons in West Africa;

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

Encourages cooperation between State organs, international organizations and civil society in combating the illicit traffic in small arms and supporting operations to collect the said arms in the subregions;

Invites the Secretary-General and those States and organizations that are in a position to do so to provide assistance to States for curbing the illicit traffic in small arms and collecting them;

Calls upon the international community to provide technical and financial support to strengthen the capacity of civil society organizations to take action to combat the illicit trade in small arms;

Requests the Secretary-General to continue to consider the matter and 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 “Assistance to States for curbing the illicit traffic in small arms and collecting them”.

V

Decides to convene a conference, no later than 2006, to review progress made in the implementation of the Programme of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects, the date and venue to be decided by the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session;

Also decides to convene a meeting of States on a biennial basis, commencing in 2003, to consider the national, regional and global implementation of the Programme of Action;

Calls upon all States to implement the Programme of Action;

Encourages the United Nations and other appropriate international and regional organizations to undertake initiatives to promote the implementation of the Programme of Action;

Encourages non-governmental organizations and civil society to engage, as appropriate, in all aspects of international, regional, subregional and national efforts to implement the Programme of Action;

Encourages all States to promote and strengthen regional and subregional initiatives to prevent, combat and eradicate the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects;

Continues to encourage States to take appropriate national measures to destroy surplus, confiscated or collected small arms and light weapons, subject to any legal constraint associated with the preparation of criminal prosecutions, unless another form of disposition or use has been officially authorized and provided that such weapons have been duly marked and registered, and to submit, on a voluntary basis, information to the Secretary-General on types and quantities destroyed as well as the methods of their destruction or disposition;

Requests the Secretary-General to ensure that resources and expertise are made available to the Secretariat to promote the implementation of the Programme of Action;

Encourages all initiatives to mobilize resources and expertise to promote the implementation of the Programme of Action and to provide assistance to States in their implementation of the Programme of Action;

Requests the Secretary-General to undertake a United Nations study, commencing during the fifty-sixth session of the General Assembly, within available financial resources and with any other assistance provided by States in a position to do so, and with the assistance of governmental experts appointed by him on the basis of equitable geographical representation, while seeking the views of States, to examine the feasibility of developing an international instrument to enable States to identify and trace, in a timely and reliable manner, illicit small arms and light weapons and to submit the study to the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session;

Decides to consider at its fifty-seventh session further steps to enhance international cooperation in preventing, combating and eradicating illicit brokering in small arms and light weapons;

Requests the Secretary-General, within existing resources, through the Department for Disarmament Affairs of the Secretariat, to collate and circulate data and information provided by States on a voluntary basis, including national reports, on the implementation by those States of the Programme of Action;

Also 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 an item entitled “The illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects”.

General and Complete Disarmament Resolutions

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