Halt to qualitative nuclear weapon improvement urged.

The General Assembly on 9 December urged the nuclear-weapon States to "stop immediately the qualitative improvement, development, production and stockpiling of nuclear warheads and their delivery systems". It also reiterated its call on those States to undertake the "step-by-step reduction of the nuclear threat and a phased programme of progressive and balanced deep reductions of nuclear weapons, and to carry out effective nuclear disarmament measures, with a view to the total elimination of these weapons within a time-bound framework".

Acting on the recommendations of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), the Assembly adopted 43 resolutions and 2 decisions, which dealt with such issues as nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, anti-personnel landmines and other conventional weapons, regional disarmament, verification and compliance, transparency and international security. Nevertheless, it reiterated that nuclear disarmament had the "highest priority in efforts to advance disarmament on a universal basis".

States not parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) were urged to accede to it at the earliest possible date, and the Conference on Disarmament was asked to commence negotiations on an "international convention prohibiting the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons under any circumstances".

On nuclear-weapon-free zones, the Assembly: urged all parties directly concerned to consider seriously taking the practical and urgent steps required for the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East; called for the ratification of the Treaties of Tlatelolco, Rarotonga, Bangkok and Pelindaba by all regional States; once again urged the States of South Asia to make all possible efforts to establish a nuclear-weapon-free zone there; and called upon all Central Asian countries to support the initiative for such a zone.

With regard to other weapons of mass destruction, the Assembly urged all States parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction to meet in full their conventional obligations and support the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons in its implementation activities. All signatory States to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction were called upon to ratify it without delay.

Conventional arms

Taking up the subject of anti-personnel landmines, the Assembly urged all States to: ratify without delay the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction; intensify their efforts to contribute to the objective of the elimination of those weapons; become parties to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be Deemed to be Excessively Injurous or to have Indiscriminate Effects; and join the Protocols of the Convention, particularly the one restricting the use of mines, booby traps and other devices.

The Assembly also decided to give urgent consideration to conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels, urged Member States to undertake multilateral negotiations aimed at establishing universally acceptable, non-discriminatory guidelines for international transfers of dual-use goods and technologies with military applications, and adopt unilateral, bilateral, regional and multilateral measures to ensure the application of scientific and technological progress in the framework of international security and disarmament, without detriment to the environment.

By some other resolutions, the Assembly: urged the international community to devote part of the resources made available by implementation of disarmament and arms limitation agreements to economic and social development; urged normalization of the relations among Balkan States; and called upon States to conclude agreements for nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament and confidence-building measures at regional and subregional levels, and take measures aimed at preventing any dumping of nuclear or radioactive wastes that would infringe upon the sovereignty of States.

Also, the Assembly decided, subject to the emergence of consensus on its objectives and agenda, to convene a fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament.