UNGA Adopts Pakistan-Sponsored Resolutions on Disarmament

APP

United Nations: The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) stamped its approval on four annual Pakistani disarmament-related resolutions that are aimed at advancing the goals of regional as well as international peace and security.

The resolutions were recommended on Monday by the 193-member Assembly’s First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), where the texts were adopted with overwhelming support from its membership.

Of these, three resolutions deal with regional disarmament, conventional arms control at regional and sub-regional levels, as well as confidence-building measures (CBMs) in the regional and sub-regional context. The fourth Pakistani resolution sought international security assurances for non-nuclear-weapon states.

The resolutions, entitled “Regional Disarmament and Confidence Building Measures” in the regional and sub-regional context, won the unanimous approval of the Assembly and were adopted without a vote. The resolution on “Conventional arms control at regional and sub-regional levels” was supported by an overwhelming majority of 186 votes, with India casting the only “no vote.”

The resolution titled Conclusion of effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons was also approved by a large majority. It garnered 123 votes in favour to none against, with 62 abstentions. On its terms, the Assembly reaffirmed the urgent need to reach an early agreement on effective arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon states against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.

It appealed to all states, especially the nuclear-weapon states, to work actively towards an early agreement on a common approach, particularly on a common formula that could be included in a legally binding international instrument. It recommended that the Conference on Disarmament actively continue intensive negotiations with a view to reaching an early agreement and concluding effective international agreements in that regard.

Diplomats said that all four resolutions recognise the significance of and complementarity between regional and global approaches to arms control, disarmament, and confidence building to promote international peace, security, and stability.

The resolutions also draw attention to the excessive conventional military danger in the regional context, implicitly in South Asia, propose measures to address the associated risks, and encourage efforts aimed at promoting confidence-building measures (CBMs) at the regional and sub-regional levels to ease regional tensions, as well as further disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation measures.

They said the resolution on conventional arms control at regional and sub-regional levels acknowledges that the preservation of a balance in states’ defence capabilities strengthens peace and stability.