Halt to qualitative nuclear weapon improvement urged.

• Position: General Assembly 52

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...