On January 24, 1946, the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) adopted by consensus its very first resolution Resolution 1 (I), which established a commission of the UN Security Council to ensure ‘the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction.’
UNFOLD ZERO highlights the 72nd anniversary of UNGA Res 1 (1) as a time to take action for nuclear disarmament, and to highlight the role of the United Nations. Please inform us of actions you take to highlight the UN resolution and promote nuclear abolition.
UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament
A key UN action in 2018 for nuclear disarmament will be the UN High-Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament (UNHLC).
Similar high level conferences in 2015 and 2016 on sustainable development, climate change and refugees have been very successful, producing agreements on the 17 Sustainable Development Goals, Paris Accord on Climate Change, and New York Declaration on Refugees and Migrants.
UNFOLD ZERO calls on civil society activists to commemorate January 24 by calling on their governments to attend the UNHLC at the highest level (Prime Minister, President or Foreign Minister) and to do their best at the conference to reduce nuclear risks and advance the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Click here for a sample letter and list of government contacts.
Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons
One July 7, 2017, the United Nations adopted a Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which is supported by non-nuclear States. The sample letter to governments (above) calls on non-nuclear countries to sign the treaty if they have not already done so. As the treaty is deposited at the UN Headquarters in New York, the governments can sign it when they are in New York for the 2018 UNHLC.
Conference on Disarmament resumes work
The Conference on Disarmament (CD), the body established by the United Nations to negotiate multilateral disarmament agreements, resumes its work on January 26. In the past the CD successfully negotiated a number of agreements including the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. More recently the CD has been requested by the UN General Assembly to negotiate a fissile materials treaty and a comprehensive nuclear weapons convention.
UN Security Council
UNGA Res 1 (1) placed a primary responsibility on the Security Council in order to facilitate the elimination from national armaments of atomic weapons and all other major weapons adaptable to mass destruction.
The Security Council has, so far, failed to implement this obligation. UNFOLD ZERO calls on the members of the UN Security Council to take action to support the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world. Proposals include a special session on nuclear disarmament hosted by one of the non-permanent members of the Security Council, or an interim measure on non-use of nuclear weapons taken by a Security Council resolution. See Will the United Nations ban nuclear targeting of populated areas?
At the very least, the UN Security Council should give support to the 2018 UN High Level Conference on Nuclear Disarmament.2020 Dior x Air Jordan 1 Low For Sale CN8608-002