UNGA Resolution on Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on
the Legality of the Nuclear Weapons


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December 10, 1996
Recalling its resolution 49/75 K of 15 December 1994, in which it requested the
International Court of Justice to render an advisory opinion on whether the threat or
use of nuclear weapons is permitted in any circumstances under international law,
Mindful of the solemn obligations of States parties, undertaken in article VI of the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, particularly to pursue
negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear
arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament,
Recalling its resolution 50/70 P of 12 December 1995, in which it called upon the
Conference on Disarmament to establish an ad hoc committee on nuclear
disarmament to commence negotiations on a phased programme of nuclear
disarmament and for the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons within a time-bound
framework,
Recalling also the Principles and Objectives for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and
Disarmament adopted at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to
the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and in particular the
objective of determined pursuit by the nuclear weapon states of systematic and
progressive efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally with the ultimate goal of
eliminating those weapons,
Recognizing that the only defence against a nuclear catastrophe is the total
elimination of nuclear weapons and the certainty that they will never be produced
again,
Desiring to achieve the objective of a legally binding prohibition of the development,
production, testing, deployment, stockpiling, threat or use of nuclear weapons and
their destruction under effective international control,
Reaffirming the commitment of the international community to the goal of the total
elimination of nuclear weapons and welcoming every effort towards this end,
Reaffirming the central role of the Conference on Disarmament as the single
multilateral disarmament negotiating forum,
Noting the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty by the General
Assembly in its resolution 50/245 of 10 September 1996,
Regretting the absence of multilaterally negotiated and legally binding security
assurances from the threat or use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon
states,
Convinced that the continuing existence of nuclear weapons poses a threat to all
humanity and that their use would have catastrophic consequences for all life on
Earth.
1. Expresses its appreciation to the International Court of Justice for responding to the
request made by the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session;
2. Takes note of the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the
Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, issued on 8 July 1996 (A/51/218);
3. Underlines the unanimous conclusion of the Court that "There exists an obligation
to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear
disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control";
4. Calls upon all States to fulfil that obligation immediately by commencing
multilateral negotiations in 1997 leading to an early conclusion of a nuclear weapons
convention prohibiting the development, production, testing, deployment, stockpiling,
transfer, threat or use of nuclear weapons and providing for their elimination;
5. Requests the Secretary-General to provide necessary assistance to support the
implementation of the present resolution;
6. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-second session an item
entitled "Follow-up to the Advisory Opinion on the International Court of Justice on
the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons."
Sponsors:
Colombia, Costa Rica, Fiji, Ghana, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Lesotho,
Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Marshall Islands, Mexico,
Mongolia, Myanmar, Namibia, Niger, Philippines, Samoa, Solomon Islands,
Uruguay, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe.
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