Total test ban: a 'priority objective.' (UN General Assembly issues December 16, 1993 statement in support of nuclear non-proliferation and comprehensive test ban) (includes related article on efforts to achieve North Korean compliance with non-proliferation)

All States should support the multilateral negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament for a comprehensive nuclear test ban - a "priority objective" of the international community in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation - the General Assembly stated on 16 December.

Acting on the recommendation of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), the Assembly, by resolution 48/70, urged the Conference on Disarmament to "proceed intensively" in its negotiation of a "universal and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty".

The Assembly also stressed (48169) that pending the conclusion of such a ban, nuclear-weapon States should "suspend all nuclear-test explosions through an agreed moratorium or unilateral moratoria". Such unilateral steps announced earlier by several nuclear-weapon States were welcomed.

More controversial was a ban on nuclear weapon use, opposed by most Western countries. In adopting resolution 48/76 B by a vote of 120 to 23, with 24 abstentions, the Assembly once again asked the Conference on Disarmament to commence negotiations on the subject, providing a fourarticle draft convention prohibiting the "use or threat of use under any circumstances".

Negotiating a verifiable ban on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices was also recommended resolution (48/75 L).

In resolution 48/75 C, the Assembly requested a "short report" on nonproliferation of weapons of mass destruction and of vehicles for their delivery.

Welcoming bilateral steps in nuclear disarmament, the Assembly, among other things, encouraged (48/75 B) the United States, the Russian Federation Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine t "continue their cooperative effort aimed at eliminating nuclear weapon and strategic offensive arms on th basis of existing agreements".

Compliance with a wide array o arms limitation and disarmament agreements was also urged. In resolution 48/63, the Assembly called upon all States to seriously consider the implications of non-compliance with such accords for international peace and security, as well as for "prospects for further progress in the field of disarmament".

A |broader structure'

Adopting a total of 4 7 resolutions - 24 of them without a vote - the First Committee continued to deal with post-cold-war issues related to international peace and security.

Disarmament should be "integrated into the broader structure of international peace and security rather than be pursued in isolation", Under- Secretary-General for Political Affairs Marrack Goulding told the Committee on 18 October.

In launching the debate, Committee Chairman Adolf Ritter von Wagner of Germany specified that "two seemingly contradictory approaches" narrowing the focus with regard to the traditional disarmament agenda and, at the same time, widening it to "comprise broader issues of peace and security" - were to be taken by the Committee, in dealing with its 27 agenda items and 22 sub-items. "Some remarkable political developments of the recent past" should help the Committee to "approach consensus on hitherto intractable issues", he added.

On 9 December, Committee Vice- Chairman Behrouz Moradi of Iran said that with the end of the cold war, some "dormant issues" had resurfaced. Developing countries felt that "non-proliferation initiatives should not compromise the right to have access to material and technology for peaceful purposes" or "replace initiatives on comprehensive elimination of weapons of mass destruction".

Disarmament,

transparency, security

On 16 December, the Assembly acted on the bulk of the drafts recommended by the First Committee.

In resolution 48/84 A, it emphasized its commitment to preventive diplomacy and stressed the "great importance of the role of regional arrangements and organizations" in the maintenance of international peace and security. All States were urged to "strive for sustainable progress" in disarmament, arms control, non-proliferation, transparency in arms transfers and confidence-building measures.

Since an "enhanced level of transparency in armaments" contributed greatly to confidence-building and security among States, the Assembly called upon (48/75 E) all Member States to provide the "requested data and information" to the UN Register of Conventional Arms - an "important step forward in the promotion of transparency in military matters'.

Welcoming recent progress in arms limitations and disarmament, it also invited (48/62) all States to participate in the UN system for the standardized reporting of military expenditures.

The potential in technological advances for application to military purposes, which could "lead to more sophisticated weapons and weapons systems", was noted (481/66) with concern. In resolution 48/67, the Assembly invited Member States to "widen multilateral dialogue, bearing in mind the proposal for seeking universally acceptable norms or guidelines that would regulate international transfers of high technology with military applications". All States, particularly those with major space capabilities, were called upon (48/74 A) to "contribute actively to the objective of the peaceful use of outer space", and to "refrain from actions contrary to that objective".

Regional concerns

With the end of the cold war and bipolar confrontation, the UN faced "new tasks in the area of maintaining international peace and security", the Assembly stated in resolution 48/84 A. Of growing importance in that regard were regional approaches to disarmament. States were called upon (48/75 I) to "conclude arrangements, wherever possible, for nuclear nonproliferation, disarmament and confidence-building measures at regional and subregional levels".

Endorsing the guidelines for regional disarmament adopted by the Disarmament Commission in 1993 and recommending them to all Member States for implementation, the Assembly affirmed (48/75 G) that global and regional approaches to disarmament complemented each other and should therefore be "pursued simultaneously".

Noting a new report (A/48/324) on international arms transfers, the Assembly stressed (48/75 F) that effective control over the imports and exports of conventional weapons fell "under the responsibility of Member States". It called for (48/75 H) "appropriate enforcement measures" to end the illegal export of conventional weapons.

The Conference on Disarmament was asked (48/75 J) to consider formulating principles to serve as a "framework for regional agreements on conventional arms control".

Convinced that nuclear-weapon-free zones could effectively contribute to the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and general and complete disarmament, the Assembly urged the establishment of such zones in the Middle East (48/71), South Asia (48/72) and Africa (48/86).

In a text on the 1971 Declaration of the Indian ocean as a Zone of Peace, the Assembly stressed (48/82) the need for Security Council permanent members and the major users of the Indian Ocean to participate in the work of the relevant Ad Hoc Committee, particularly at a time when it was actively engaged in the task of developing new alternative approaches".

Continuing efforts by Mediterranean countries to contribute actively to the "elimination of all causes of tension" in the region and to the "promotion of just and lasting solutions" to the persistent problems through peaceful means were also welcomed (48/81).