United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/69/52

by the United Nations

⁠United Nations

A/RES/69/52

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⁠

General Assembly

Distr.: General 11 December 2014

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Sixty-ninth session
Agenda item 96 (ff)

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 2 December 2014

[on the report of the First Committee (A/69/440)]

69/52. United action towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons

The General Assembly,

Recalling the need for all States to take further practical steps and effective measures towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons, with a view to achieving a peaceful and secure world free of nuclear weapons, and in this regard confirming the determination of Member States to take united action,

Noting that the ultimate objective of the efforts of States in the disarmament process is general and complete disarmament under strict and effective international control,

Recalling its resolution 68/51 of 5 December 2013,

Expressing deep concern at the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons, and reaffirming the need for all States at all times to comply with applicable international law, including international humanitarian law, while convinced that every effort should be made to avoid the use of nuclear weapons,

Recognizing that the catastrophic humanitarian consequences that would result from the use of nuclear weapons should be fully understood by all, and noting in this regard that efforts should be made to increase such understanding,

Reaffirming that the enhancement of international peace and security and the promotion of nuclear disarmament are mutually reinforcing,

Reaffirming also that further advancement in nuclear disarmament will contribute to consolidating the international regime for nuclear non-proliferation, which is, inter alia, essential to international peace and security,

Reaffirming further the crucial importance of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons^[1] as the cornerstone of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and an essential foundation for the pursuit of the three pillars of the Treaty, namely, nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy,

Stressing the importance of the decisions and the resolution of the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons^[2] and the Final Documents of the 2000^[3] and 2010^[4] Review Conferences of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,

Welcoming the successful outcome of the 2010 Review Conference, held from 3 to 28 May 2010, and reaffirming the necessity of fully implementing the action plan adopted at the Review Conference,^[5]

Noting the deliberations and results of the third session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 2015 being the year of the seventieth anniversary of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, and noting also the importance of achieving a successful outcome of the Review Conference,

Noting also the high-level meeting on revitalizing the work of the Conference on Disarmament and taking forward multilateral disarmament negotiations, convened by the Secretary-General on 24 September 2010, and the plenary meeting of the General Assembly to follow up on the high-level meeting, held from 27 to 29 July 2011,

Welcoming the entry into force on 5 February 2011 of the Treaty between the Russian Federation and the United States of America on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms and its continuing successful implementation,

Welcoming also the announcements and recent updates on overall stockpiles of nuclear warheads by France, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America, as well as the update of the Russian Federation on its nuclear arsenal, which further enhance transparency and increase mutual confidence,

Expressing deep concern regarding the growing dangers posed by the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, inter alia, nuclear weapons, including that caused by proliferation networks,

Recognizing the importance of the objective of nuclear security, along with the shared goals of Member States of nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, welcoming the Nuclear Security Summits, the most recent of which was held in The Hague on 24 and 25 March 2014, and looking forward to the Nuclear Security Summit to be held in the United States of America in 2016,

Condemning in the strongest terms the nuclear tests conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, its launches using ballistic missile technology and its continued development of its nuclear and ballistic missile programmes, recognizing the importance of the implementation of the 2005 joint statement of the Six-Party Talks and full compliance with Security Council resolutions 1718 (2006) of 14 October 2006, 1874 (2009) of 12 June 2009, 2087 (2013) of 22 January 2013 and 2094 (2013) of 7 March 2013, in particular noting the requirements in those resolutions that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programmes, immediately cease all related activities and not conduct any further nuclear tests, in this respect expressing concern regarding its uranium enrichment and plutonium production programmes and light water reactor construction and its efforts to readjust and restart its nuclear facilities at Yongbyon, including the 5 MW(e) graphite-moderated reactor and uranium enrichment activities, and stressing that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea cannot have the status of a nuclear-weapon State under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, nor would its possession of nuclear weapons be accepted under any circumstances,

1. Reaffirms the importance of all States parties to the Treaty on the Non Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons complying with their obligations under all the articles of the Treaty;

2. Stresses the importance of an effective process of review of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and calls upon all States parties to the Treaty to work together so that the 2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty can successfully strengthen the Treaty regime and advance the action plan adopted at the 2010 Review Conference covering all of the three pillars of the Treaty;5

3. Reaffirms the vital importance of the universality of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and calls upon all States not parties to the Treaty to accede as non-nuclear-weapon States to the Treaty promptly and without any conditions and, pending their accession to the Treaty, to adhere to its terms and take practical steps in support of the Treaty;

4. Also reaffirms the unequivocal undertaking of the nuclear-weapon States to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals, leading to nuclear disarmament, to which all States parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons are committed under article VI thereof;

5. Calls upon nuclear-weapon States to undertake further efforts to reduce and ultimately eliminate all types of nuclear weapons, deployed and non-deployed, including through unilateral, bilateral, regional and multilateral measures;

6. Emphasizes the importance of applying the principles of irreversibility, verifiability and transparency in relation to the process of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation;

7. Recognizes that nuclear disarmament and achieving the peace and security of a world without nuclear weapons require openness and cooperation, affirms the importance of enhanced confidence through increased transparency and effective verification, and emphasizes the importance of the commitment made by the nuclear-weapon States at the 2010 Review Conference to accelerate concrete progress on the steps leading to nuclear disarmament contained in the Final Document of the 2000 Review Conference in a way that promotes international stability, peace and undiminished and increased security;

8. Welcomes the regular convening of meetings of the five nuclear-weapon States, most recently in Beijing in April 2014, with the next one to be held in London in early 2015, as a transparency and confidence-building measure and the submission of reports by the nuclear-weapon States and other States parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to the Preparatory Committee for the 2015 Review Conference at its third session, and calls upon the nuclear-weapon States and all other States parties to the Treaty to continue and further enhance their reports on implementation of the action plan adopted at the 2010 Review Conference;

9. Also welcomes the ongoing implementation by the Russian Federation and the United States of America of the Treaty on Measures for the Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms, and encourages them to continue discussions on follow-on measures in order to achieve deeper reductions in their nuclear arsenals;

10. Urges all States that have not yet done so to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty^[6] at the earliest opportunity, with a view to its early entry into force and universalization, stresses the importance of maintaining existing moratoriums on nuclear-weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions pending the entry into force of the Treaty, and reaffirms the importance of the continued development of the Treaty verification regime, which will be a significant contribution to providing assurance of compliance with the Treaty;

11. Reiterates its call for the immediate commencement of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices and its early conclusion on the basis of document CD/1299 of 24 March 1995 and the mandate contained therein, regrets that negotiations have not yet started, and calls upon all nuclear-weapon States and States not parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to declare and maintain moratoriums on the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices pending the entry into force of the treaty;

12. Calls upon the nuclear-weapon States to take measures to further reduce the risk of an accidental or unauthorized launch of nuclear weapons in ways that promote international stability and security, while welcoming the measures already taken by several nuclear-weapon States in this regard;

13. Also calls upon the nuclear-weapon States to promptly engage with a view to further diminishing the role and significance of nuclear weapons in all military and security concepts, doctrines and policies;

14. Recognizes the legitimate interest of non-nuclear-weapon States in receiving unequivocal and legally binding security assurances from nuclear-weapon States which could strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime;

15. Recalls Security Council resolution 984 (1995) of 11 April 1995, noting the unilateral statements by each of the nuclear-weapon States, and calls upon all nuclear-weapon States to fully respect their existing commitments with regard to security assurances;

16. Encourages the establishment of further nuclear-weapon-free zones, where appropriate, on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at among States of the region concerned and in accordance with the 1999 guidelines of the Disarmament Commission,^[7] recognizes that, by signing and ratifying relevant protocols that contain negative security assurances, nuclear-weapon States would undertake individual legally binding commitments with respect to the status of such zones and not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against States parties to such treaties, and welcomes in this regard the signature of the Protocol to the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia by the five nuclear-weapon States on 6 May 2014;

17. Reaffirms its support for the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction, and calls for the earliest possible convening of a successful conference in Helsinki, to be attended by all States of the Middle East, on its establishment on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at by the States of the region;

18. Urges the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea not to conduct any further nuclear tests and to comply fully with its commitments under the joint statement of the Six-Party Talks of 19 September 2005 and its obligations under the relevant Security Council resolutions;

19. Calls upon all States to redouble their efforts to prevent and curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons and their means of delivery and to fully respect and comply with obligations undertaken to forswear nuclear weapons;

20. Stresses the importance of the universalization of the comprehensive safeguards agreements of the International Atomic Energy Agency to include States which have not yet adopted and implemented such an agreement, while also strongly reaffirming the follow-on actions of the 2010 Review Conference encouraging all States which have not done so to conclude and bring into force as soon as possible the Model Protocol Additional to the Agreement(s) between State(s) and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the Application of Safeguards approved by the Board of Governors of the Agency on 15 May 1997;

21. Calls upon all States to fully implement relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1540 (2004) of 28 April 2004;

22. Encourages every effort to secure all vulnerable nuclear and radiological material in order to, inter alia, prevent nuclear terrorism, and calls upon all States to work cooperatively as an international community to advance nuclear security, while requesting and providing assistance, including in the field of capacity-building, as necessary;

23. Encourages all States to implement the recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations study on disarmament and non-proliferation education,^[8] in support of achieving a world without nuclear weapons, and to voluntarily share information on efforts they have been undertaking to that end;

24. Commends and further encourages the constructive role played by civil society in promoting nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament, and encourages all States to promote, in cooperation with civil society, disarmament and non-proliferation education which, inter alia, contributes to raising public awareness of the tragic consequences of the use of nuclear weapons and strengthens the momentum of international efforts to promote nuclear disarmament and non proliferation;

25. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventieth session, under the item entitled “General and complete disarmament”, the sub-item entitled “United action towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons”.

62nd plenary meeting
2 December 2014

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1. United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 729, No. 10485.
2. See 1995 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.
3. 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document, vols. I–III (NPT/CONF.2000/28 (Parts I–IV)).
4. 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document, vols. I–III (NPT/CONF.2010/50 (Vols. I–III)).
5. Ibid., vol. I, part I.
6. See resolution 50/245 and A/50/1027.
7. See Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 42 (A/54/42).
8. A/57/124.