Ethical Imperatives for a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

A Resolution of the General Assembly, under agenda item 101kk Ethical imperatives for a nuclear-weapon-free world, published in 2018.

What other versions does this mandate have?

11 versions · 2015–2025

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

Year	Symbol	Title	Word length	Text similarity
2025	A/RES/80/51	Ethical imperatives for a nuclear-weapon-free world	1,090	99%Compare
2024	A/RES/79/36	Ethical imperatives for a nuclear-weapon-free world	1,088	99%Compare
2023	A/RES/78/41	Ethical imperatives for a nuclear-weapon-free world	1,089	94%Compare
2022	A/RES/77/67	Ethical imperatives for a nuclear-weapon-free world	1,137	96%Compare
2021	A/RES/76/25	Ethical imperatives for a nuclear-weapon-free world	1,101	98%Compare

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

1 report · 2025

Year	Symbol	Title		Mandate resolution
2025	A/80/426	Online university or other equivalent platform to support university-level science, technology, engineering and mathematics education in the least developed countries report of the Secretary-General		A/RES/76/25

What subjects does this mandate have?

3 subjects

Ethics Nuclear Disarmament Nuclear Non-Proliferation

What’s in this document?

15 operative paragraphs

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

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

Declares that:

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

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

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

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

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

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

In a world where basic human needs have not yet been met, the vast resources allocated to the modernization of nuclear weapons arsenals could instead be redirected to meeting the Sustainable Development Goals;¹⁰

¹⁰See resolution 70/1.

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

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

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

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

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

Who adopted this document and its mandates?

What other versions does this mandate have?

Which reports were submitted under this mandate?

What subjects does this mandate have?

What’s in this document?

Table of contents