reaching early agreement on effective measures for the prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of all chemical weapons and for their destruction,

Stressing the importance of early agreement on the complete prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of all chemical weapons and on their destruction, which would contribute to general and complete disarmament under effective international control, Noting the risk of continued development, production and stockpiling of chemical weapons in the absence of such agreement,

Having considered the report of the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament,12

Noting that drafts of a convention on the prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of all chemical weapons and on their destruction, as well as other working documents, proposals and suggestions, have been submitted to the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament and constitute valuable contributions to reaching appropriate agreement,

Noting also the comments addressed to this problem and relevant documents submitted to the General Assembly at its thirty-first session, Noting also that intensified efforts in the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament have led to increased understanding in identifying practical approaches towards the prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of all chemical weapons, and their destruction, including definition of the agents to be banned,

Recognizing the importance of developing methods for providing adequate assurance of compliance with effective measures for the prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of all chemical weapons, including methods of verifying the destruction of stockpiles of such weapons,

Having in mind that agreement on the complete prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of all chemical weapons and on their destruction should not impede the utilization of science and technology for the economic development of States,

Desiring to contribute to a successful conclusion of the negotiations. on effective and strict measures for the complete prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of all chemical weapons and for their destruction,

1. Reaffirms the objective of reaching early agreement on the effective prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of all chemical weapons and on their elimination from arsenals of all States; 2. Urges again all States to make every effort to facilitate early agreement on the effective prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of all chemical weapons and on their destruction;

"General Assembly Official Records: Thirty-first Session, Supplement No. 27 (A/31/27), vols. I and II.

13

See Documents on Disarmament, 1972, pp. 120-124; ibid., 1974, pp. 99-106; ibid., 1975, p. 101; ante, pp. 820-824.

3. Requests the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament to continue negotiations as a matter of high priority, taking into account the existing proposals, with a view to reaching early agreement on effective measures for the prohibition of the development, production and stockpiling of all chemical weapons and for their destruction;

4. Invites all States that have not yet done so to accede to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction, as well as to accede to or ratify the Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases, and of Bacteriological Methods of Warfare, signed at Geneva on 17 June 1925, and calls again for strict observance by all States of the principles and objectives of those instruments;

5. Requests the Secretary-General to transmit to the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament all documents of the thirty-first session of the General Assembly relating to chemical weapons and to chemical means of warfare;

6. Requests the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament to report on the results of its negotiations to the General Assembly at its thirty-second session.

General Assembly Resolution 31/66: Urgent Need for Cessation of Nuclear and Thermonuclear Tests and Conclusion of a Treaty Designed To Achieve a Comprehensive Test Ban, December 10, 19761

The General Assembly,

Reaffirming its conviction that the cessation of nuclear weapon testing would be in the supreme interest of mankind, both as a major step towards controlling the development and proliferation of nuclear

1A/RES/31/66, Jan. 6, 1977. The draft res. was submitted in the First Committee on Nov. 22 by Australia, Austria, Colombia, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Ireland, Mexico, Nepal, New Zealand, Nigeria, Philippines, Sweden, and Venezuela. It was subsequently sponsored also by Afghanistan, Finland, Papua New Guinea, and the United Rep. of Cameroon, and introduced on Nov. 24 by New Zealand. The First Committee took a separate vote on oper. par. 1, adopting it by 82 votes to 5 (Albania, China, France, U.K., U.S.), with 38 abstentions. The General Assembly adopted the res. as a whole by 105 votes to 2, with 27 abstentions, as follows:

In favor-Afghanistan, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burma, Burundi, Canada, Central African Rep., Chad, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Democratic Yemen, Denmark, Dominican Rep., Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Rep., Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Rep., Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Romania, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Surinam, Swaziland, Sweden, Syrian Arab Rep., Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda,

(Continued)

weapons and to relieve the deep apprehension concerning the harmful consequences of radio-active contamination for the health of present and future generations,

Gravely concerned at the continuation of both atmospheric and underground nuclear weapon testing since the thirtieth session of the General Assembly,

Recalling its previous resolutions on this subject, the most recent being resolution 3466 (XXX) of 11 December 1975,2

Recalling the stated aim of the parties to the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and under Water 3 and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to seek to achieve the discontinuance of all test explosions of nuclear weapons for all time,

Noting the information concerning agreements concluded by two nuclear-weapon States limiting the scope of underground nuclear weapon tests and making provision in this connexion for the control and supervision of peaceful nuclear explosions including, in certain. cases, arrangements for on-site verification,"

Considering that conditions are favourable for these two nuclearweapon States to step up their efforts to reach agreement on the means of verifying a comprehensive test ban agreement,

Taking note of that part of the report of the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament relating to the question of a comprehensive test ban treaty,

1. Condemns all nuclear weapon tests, in whatever environment they may be conducted;

2. Declares its profound concern that substantive negotiations towards a comprehensive test ban agreement have not yet begun and reemphasizes the urgency of concluding a comprehensive and effective agreement;

3. Calls once again upon all nuclear-weapon States to suspend the testing of nuclear weapons by agreement, subject to review after a specified period, as an interim step towards the conclusion of a formal and comprehensive test ban agreement;

4. Emphasizes in this regard the particular responsibility of the nuclear-weapon States which are parties to international agreements

(Continued)

United Arab Emirates, United Rep. of Cameroon, Upper Volta, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire.

Against-Albania, China.

Abstaining-Algeria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Byelorussian SSR, Comoros, Congo, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Equatorial Guinea, France, FRG, Gambia, GDR, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Mauritania, Mongolia, Poland, U.K., Ukrainian SSR, United Rep. of Tanzania, U.S., USSR, Zambia.

'Documents on Disarmament, 1975, pp. 769–773.

* General Assembly Official Records: Thirty-first Session, Supplement No. 27 (A/31/27), vols. I and II.

in which they have declared their intention to achieve at the earliest possible date the cessation of the nuclear arms race;

5. Calls upon all States not yet parties to the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and under Water to adhere to it forthwith;

6. Urges the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament to continue to give the highest priority to the conclusion of a comprehensive test ban agreement and to report to the General Assembly at its thirtysecond session on the progress achieved;

7. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its thirty-second session the item entitled "Urgent need for cessation of nuclear and thermonuclear tests and conclusion of a treaty designed to achieve a comprehensive test ban".

General Assembly Resolution 31/67: Implementation of General Assembly Resolution 3467 (XXX) Concerning the Signature and Ratification of Additional Protocol II of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (Treaty of Tlatelolco), December 10, 19761

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolutions 1911 (XVIII) of 27 November 1963,2 2286 (XXII) of 5 December 1967,3 2456 B (XXIII) of 20 December 1968,*

1A/RES/31/67, Jan. 6, 1977. The draft res. was submitted to the First Committee by 21 Latin American states on Nov. 22 (Bahamas, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Dominican Rep., Ecuador, El Salvador, Grenada, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Surinam, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, Venezuela), and subsequently also sponsored by Barbados. Introduced in the First Committee by Mexico on Nov. 24 (see ante, pp. 847-848), it was adopted by the G.A. by 119 votes to 0, with 14 abstentions, as follows:

In favor-Afghanistan, Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Burma, Burundi, Canada, Central African Rep., Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, FRG, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Ivory Coast, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People's Democratic Rep., Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Rep., Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malayasia, Mali, Malta, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Morocco, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Portugal. Qatar, Romania. Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Spain, Sir Lanka, Sudan, Surinam, Sweden, Syrian Arab Republic. Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, U.K., United Arab Emirates, United Rep. of Cameroon, United Rep. of Tanzania, U.S., Upper Volta, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen, Yugoslavia, Zaire, Zambia.

Against-None.

Abstaining-Bulgaria, Byelorussian SSR, Cuba, Czechoslovakia, Democratic Yemen, GDR, Guyana, Hungary, Maldives, Mongolia, Poland, Uganda, Ukrainian SSR, USSR.

2 Documents on Disarmament, 1963, pp. 628–629.

Ibid., 1967, pp. 620-621.

4 Ibid., 1968, p. 799.

2666 (XXV) of 7 December 1970, 2830 (XXVI) of 16 December 1971, 2935 (XXVII) of 29 November 1972, 3079 (XXVIII) of 6 December 1973, 3258 (XXIX) of 9 December 1974 and 3467 (XXX) of 11 December 1975,10 eight of which contain appeals to the nuclear-weapon States regarding the signature and ratification of Additional Protocol II of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (Treaty of Tlatelolco),"

Reiterating its firm conviction that, for the maximum effectiveness of any treaty establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone, the cooperation of the nuclear-weapon States is necessary and that such co-operation should take the form of commitments likewise undertaken in a formal international instrument which is legally binding, such as a treaty, convention or protocol,

Recalling with particular satisfaction that the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, the United States of America, France and the People's Republic of China are already parties to Additional Protocol II of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (Treaty of Tlatelolco),

1. Again urges the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics to sign and ratify Additional Protocol II of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (Treaty of Tlatelolco);

2. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its thirty-second session an item entitled "Implementation of General Assembly resolution 31/67 concerning the signature and ratification of Additional Protocol II of the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (Treaty of Tlatelolco)".

General Assembly Resolution 31/68: Effective Measures To Implement the Purposes and Objectives of the Disarmament Decade, December 10, 19761

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 2602 E (XXIV) of 16 December 1969, 2 in which it declared the decade of the 1970s the Disarmament Decade

1A/RES/31/68, Jan. 7, 1977. This res. was submitted to the First Committee on Nov. 23 by 11 states, and subsequently also sponsored by Bangladesh, Morocco, Philippines, Sweden, and the United Rep. of Cameroon. It was introduced on Nov. 24 by Nigeria (ante, pp. 850-854). Both the First Committee and the G.A. adopted it by consensus. In the First Committee, the U.S. expressed reservations regarding the existence of a direct link between disarmament and development (A/C.1/31/PV.44, pp. 52–55), while China said that it would not have participated in a vote on the res. (ibid., pp. 53, 55). 'Documents on Disarmament, 1969, pp. 713–715.