Nuclear disarmament negotiations

Resolution L.41 "Taking forward multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations"

The General Assembly

Decides to convene in 2017 a United Nations conference to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination;

Decides that the conference shall convene in New York, under the rules of procedure of the General Assembly unless otherwise agreed by the conference, from 27 to 31 March and from 15 June to 7 July 2017, with the participation and contribution of international organizations and civil society representatives;

Also decides that the conference will hold a one-day organizational session in New York as soon as possible;

The resolution was adopted by the First Committee with 123 votes for, 38 against and 16 abstentions.

Nuclear disarmament verification

Resolution L.57 "Nuclear disarmament verification"

The General Assembly

Requests the Secretary-General to seek the views of Member States on developing practical and effective nuclear disarmament verification measures and their importance in achieving and maintaining a world without nuclear weapons, and to report back to the General Assembly at its seventy-second session;

Also requests the Secretary-General to establish a group of governmental experts of up to 25 participants on the basis of equitable geographical distribution to consider the role of verification in advancing nuclear disarmament, taking into account the report requested above, which will meet in Geneva in 2018 and 2019 for a total of three sessions of five days each;

Voting result: 177 for, 0 against, and 7 abstentions (Belarus, China, DPRK, Iran, Pakistan, Russia, Syria)

Fissile Material (Cutoff) Treaty

Resolution L.65 "Treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices"

The General Assembly

Requests the Secretary-General to establish a high-level fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT) expert preparatory group with a membership of 25 States, chosen on the basis of equitable geographical representation, which will operate by consensus,* without prejudice to national positions in future negotiations, and which will meet in Geneva for a session of two weeks in each of 2017 and 2018, to consider and make recommendations on substantial elements of a future non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, on the basis of CD/1299 and the mandate contained therein; the high-level FMCT expert preparatory group will also examine, with a view to making possible recommendations, the report of the Group of Governmental Experts, mandated pursuant to resolution 67/53, as contained in document A/70/81, as well as the views submitted by Member States as contained in documents A/68/154 and Add.1 and A/71/140 and Add.1;

Requests the Chair of the high-level FMCT expert preparatory group to organize, in New York, two two-day informal consultative meetings, open-ended so that all Member States can engage in interactive discussions and share their views, which the Chair shall convey to the high-level FMCT expert preparatory group for consideration; the first meeting will convene in 2017 to consider the report of the Group of Governmental Experts, as contained in document A/70/81, the second in 2018 in order for the Chair to provide a report in his own capacity on the work of the high-level FMCT expert preparatory group;

• The high-level FMCT expert preparatory group will be governed by the rules and established practices applicable to groups of governmental experts

Voting result: 173 in favor to 1 against (Pakistan), with 10 abstentions (Bolivia, China, Cuba, DPRK, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Nicaragua, Russia, Syria).