Disarmament Diplomacy

2008 First Committee Resolutions

Regional Disarmament and Security

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Decision (L.3)
Maintenance of international security-good-neighbourliness, stability and development in South-Eastern Europe.

Introduced by Macedonia.

This decision recalls resolution 61/53 (2006) and includes an item entitled "Maintenance of international security-good-neighbourliness, stability and development in South-Eastern Europe" on the agenda of the 65th session of the General Assembly.

First Committee: without a vote
General Assembly: without a vote

The drafters of this biennial text did not offer any public explanation for their decision not to introduce a substantive text.

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63/43 (L.8)
Regional disarmament.

Introduced by Pakistan.

This annual resolution, unchanged in more than a decade, notes recent proposals for disarmament at the regional and sub-regional levels and reaffirms the need for efforts to promote regional disarmament to incorporate the specific characteristics and requirements of each region. It asserts that efforts towards disarmament must be taken both regionally and globally, welcomes existing initiatives, encourages efforts aimed at promoting confidence-building measures at the regional and sub-regional levels, and calls upon states to conclude such agreements whenever possible.

First Committee: without a vote
General Assembly: without a vote

This resolution was revised to its present form following the 1993 adoption by the Disarmament Commission of guidelines and recommendations for regional approaches to disarmament within the context of global security. The text of this resolution, adopted annually without a vote, has been static since the mid-1990s.

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63/44 (L.9)
Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels.

Introduced by Pakistan.

This annual resolution, unchanged in recent years, emphasizes the special responsibility of states "with larger military capabilities" to promote conventional arms control in the interest of regional peace and security, in part out of the belief that in the post-cold war era threats to the peace arise mainly among states located in the same region. The resolution requests the Conference on Disarmament to consider the formulation of principles that can serve as a framework for regional agreements. It also requests the Secretary-General to seek the views of governments on this subject and to submit a report to the next session of the General Assembly.

First Committee: 166-1-1
General Assembly: 175-1-2

This seemingly innocuous resolution continued to prompt a rare solitary no vote from India, with Bhutan abstaining, as its subtext plainly points a finger at India. India's position against the resolution is that the CD has a global, rather than regional, jurisdiction and that the Disarmament Commission has already taken action on the same issue. Despite its dubious provenance, the wide support for this resolution can be attributed to its moderate approach and the fact that the issue has implications for other regions. Although the unchanged text of this resolution continued to recognize the Treaty on Conventional Forces in Europe as "a cornerstone of European security", Russia again voted in favour, despite its December 2007 suspension of the Treaty.

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63/86 (L.18)
Strengthening of security and cooperation in the Mediterranean region.

Introduced by Algeria.

This annual resolution acts in recognition of the "indivisible nature" of security in the Mediterranean, in particular urging further cooperation between Europe and Mediterranean states with a view toward easing tensions within the region. Otherwise unchanged from resolution 62/58, the current resolution includes a new preambular paragraph welcoming the 2008 joint declaration of the Paris Summit, which launched a reinforced Barcelona Process. The resolution affirms the connection between European and Mediterranean security, applauds existing efforts to ease tension in promotion of regional peace and security, noting that eliminating social and economic disparities would be beneficial in this context. The resolution calls on states in the region to adhere to all multilaterally negotiated disarmament and non-proliferation initiatives as a necessary condition for strengthening regional peace and cooperation. It also urges all states to provide data to the UN Register for Conventional Arms, and further encourages states to increase cooperation on combating terrorism, taking into account relevant UN resolutions. It requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on means to strengthen security and cooperation in the region.

First Committee: without a vote
General Assembly: without a vote

This resolution was co-sponsored by all EU member states and a number of regional states, including Algeria, Egypt, Jordan, Tunisia, Turkey, Yemen, and the states of the Balkans region. Key non-sponsors remain Israel, Lebanon, Libya, and Syria.

In its annual statement on the resolution, the EU expressed satisfaction with the implementation of the IAEA Additional Protocol and other transparency measures adopted by Libya, related to the Libyan government's decision to disband its weapons of mass destruction programmes.

The EU statement also expressed satisfaction with the evolution of the Barcelona Process and the July 2008 declaration for the Union for the Mediterranean, an initiative of French President Nicolas Sarkozy. Major objectives of the initiative are to build momentum for Middle East peace efforts and to facilitate improved relations between Israel and its Arab neighbours. 43 states signed the declaration at a summit in Paris, co-chaired by the French and Egyptian presidents and attended by all states in the region except Libya, which boycotted the summit.

The Libyan delegation spoke out on this resolution, objecting to the resolution's reference to the Paris Summit. The Libyans reiterated their government's rationale for not attending the Summit-that it did not allow for the participation of all Arab states.

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63/78 (L.46)
Regional confidence-building measures: activities of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa.

Introduced by Angola on behalf of the Economic Community of Central African States.

This annual resolution, which includes minor revisions to resolution 62/53, focuses on the Central Africa sub-region and supports the work of the UN Standing Advisory Committee. The most significant change is the addition of a new operative paragraph (OP3) welcoming progress under the Sao Tome Initiative to draft a legal instrument to control small arms and to develop a code of conduct for defense and security forces in Central Africa. The other key provisions of the resolution continue to encourage regional states to bring into effect the early warning mechanism to monitor the political situation in the region and maintain efforts to promote peace and security in the region. The resolution still calls for confidence-building measures at the regional and subregional levels in order to ease tension and to support peace, stability and sustainable development. It also continues to request the Secretary-General and the High Commissioner for Human Rights to keep performing a number of tasks including providing support for the Standing Advisory Committee, the Subregional Centre for Human Rights and Democracy in Central Africa, and assistance with refugees. It also emphasizes the importance of providing members of the Standing Advisory Committee with necessary support, and appeals for voluntary contributions from UN member states, intergovernmental, and non-government organizations.

First Committee: without a vote
General Assembly: without a vote

The Standing Advisory Committee was established in 1992 by the Secretary-General, pursuant to resolution 46/37B (1991) and at the request of the Economic Community of Central African States (ECCAS), to encourage arms limitation, disarmament, non-proliferation, and development in the sub-region. The members of the Committee-also members of ECCAS-are Angola, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Rwanda, and Sao Tome and Principe.

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