A/RES/40/90 GA
Prohibition of the development and manufacture of new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons : resolution / adopted by the General Assembly
40
Session
128
Yes
1
No
21
Abstentions
| Draft symbol | A/RES/40/90 |
|---|---|
| Adopted symbol | A/RES/40/90 |
| Category | POLITICAL AND LEGAL QUESTIONS |
| Voeten Topics ⓘ | |
| P5 Positions |
|
| UN Document | A/RES/40/90 ↗ |
Vote Recorded Vote — A/40/PV.113
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Afghanistan
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Algeria
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Angola
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Antigua and Barbuda
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Argentina
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Austria
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Bahamas
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Bahrain
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Bangladesh
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Barbados
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Benin
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Bhutan
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Plurinational State of Bolivia
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Botswana
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Brazil
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Brunei Darussalam
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Bulgaria
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Burkina Faso
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Myanmar
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Burundi
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Belarus
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Cameroon
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Cabo Verde
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Central African Republic
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Chad
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Chile
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Colombia
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Comoros
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Congo
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Cuba
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Cyprus
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Czechoslovakia
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Democratic Yemen
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Djibouti
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Dominican Republic
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Ecuador
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Egypt
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El Salvador
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Equatorial Guinea
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Ethiopia
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Fiji
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Finland
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Gabon
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German Democratic Republic
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Ghana
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Grenada
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Guatemala
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Guinea
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Guinea-Bissau
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Guyana
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Haiti
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Honduras
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Hungary
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India
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Indonesia
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Islamic Republic of Iran
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Iraq
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Côte d'Ivoire
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Jordan
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Kenya
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Kuwait
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Lao People's Democratic Republic
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Lebanon
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Lesotho
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Liberia
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Libya
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Madagascar
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Malawi
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Malaysia
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Maldives
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Mali
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Malta
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Mauritania
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Mauritius
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Mexico
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Mongolia
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Morocco
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Mozambique
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Nepal
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Nicaragua
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Niger
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Nigeria
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Oman
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Pakistan
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Panama
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Papua New Guinea
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Peru
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Philippines
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Poland
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Qatar
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Romania
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Rwanda
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Saint Kitts and Nevis
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Saint Lucia
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Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
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Samoa
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Sao Tome and Principe
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Saudi Arabia
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Senegal
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Seychelles
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Sierra Leone
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Singapore
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Solomon Islands
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Somalia
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Sri Lanka
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Sudan
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Suriname
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Eswatini
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Sweden
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Syrian Arab Republic
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Thailand
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Togo
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Trinidad and Tobago
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Tunisia
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Uganda
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Ukraine
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Union of Soviet Socialist Republics
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United Arab Emirates
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United Republic of Tanzania
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Uruguay
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Vanuatu
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Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
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Viet Nam
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Yemen
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Yugoslavia
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Democratic Republic of the Congo
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Zambia
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Zimbabwe
Full text of resolution
III. Resolutions adopted on the reports of the First Committee
75
and in consultation with the Organization of African
Unity,
Expressing regret that despite the threat South Africa's
nuclear capability constitutes to international peace and
security and, in particular, to the realization of the objec-
tive of the Declaration on the Denuclearization of Africa,
the Disarmament Commission has, once again, in 1985,
failed to reach a consensus on this important item on its
agenda,
Gravely concerned that South Africa, in flagrant viola-
tion of the principles of international law and the relevant
provisions of the Charter of the United Nations, has con-
tinued its acts of aggression and subversion against the
peoples of the independent States of southern Africa,
Strongly condemning the continued military occupation
by South African troops of parts of the territory of Angola
in violation of its national sovereignty, independence and
territorial integrity, and urging the immediate and uncon-
ditional withdrawal of South African troops from Angolan
soil,
Expressing its grave disappointment that, despite
repeated appeals by the international community, certain
Western States and Israel have continued to collaborate
with the racist regime of South Africa in the military and
nuclear fields and that some of the same Western States
have, by a ready recourse to the use of the veto, consist-
ently frustrated every effort in the Security Council to deal
decisively with the question of South Africa,
Recalling its decision taken at the tenth special session
that the Security Council should take appropriate effective
steps to prevent the frustration of the implementation of
the decision of the Organization of African Unity for the
denuclearization of Africa, 29
Stressing the need to preserve peace and security in
Africa by ensuring that the continent is a nuclear-weapon-
free zone,
1. Condemns the massive build-up of South Africa's
military machine, in particular its frenzied acquisition of
nuclear-weapon capability for repressive and aggressive
purposes and as an instrument of blackmail;
2. Expresses its full support for the African States faced
with the danger of South Africa's nuclear capability;
3. Reaffirms that the acquisition of nuclear-weapon
capability by the racist regime constitutes a very grave
danger to international peace and security and, in particu-
lar, jeopardizes the security of African States and increases
the danger of the proliferation of nuclear weapons;
4. Condemns all forms of nuclear collaboration by any
State, corporation, institution or individual with the racist
regime of South Africa, in particular the decision by some
Member States to grant licences to several corporations in
their territories to provide equipment and technical and
maintenance services for nuclear installations in South
Africa;
S.
Demands that South Africa and all other foreign
interests put an immediate end to the exploration for and
exploitation of uranium resources in Namibia;
6. Calls upon all States, corporations, institutions and
individuals to terminate forthwith all forms of military
and nuclear collaboration with the racist regime;
7. Requests the Disarmament Commission to consider
as a matter of priority during its session in 1986 South
Africa's nuclear capability, taking into account, inter alia,
the findings of the report of the United Nations Institute
29 See resolution S-10/2, para. 63 (c).
30 See O/licial Records of the Security Council, Thirty-fifth Year, Supple-
ment for July, August and September I 980, document SI 141 79.
for Disarmament Research on South Africa's nuclear
capability;
8. Requests the Security Council, for the purposes of
disarmament and to fulfil its obligations and responsibil-
ity, to take enforcement measures to prevent any racist
regime from acquiring arms or arms technology;
9. Further requests the Security Council to conclude
expeditiously its consideration of the recommendations of
its Committee established by resolution 421 (1977) con-
cerning the question of South Africa, 30 with a view to
blocking the existing loopholes in the arms embargo so as
to render it more effective, and prohibiting, in particular,
all forms of co-operation and collaboration with the racist
regime of South Africa in the nuclear field;
10. Demands once again that South Africa submit
forthwith all its nuclear installations and facilities to
inspection by the International Atomic Energy Agency;
11. Requests the Secretary-General to follow very
closely South Africa's evolution in the nuclear field and to
report thereon to the General Assembly at its forty-first
session.
113th plenary meeting
12 December 1985
40/90. Prohibition of the development and manufac-
ture of new types of weapons of mass destruc-
tion and new systems of such weapons
The General Assembl.v,
Recalling its resolutions 3479 (XXX) of 11 December
1975, 31/74 of 10 December 1976, 32/84 A of 12 Decem-
ber 1977, 33/66 B of 14 December 1978, 34/79 of 11
December 1979, 35/149 of 12 December 1980, 36/89 of9
December 1981, 37/77 A of9 December 1982, 38/182 of
20 December 1983 and 39/62 of 12 December 1984 con-
cerning the prohibition of new types of weapons of mass
destruction,
Bearing in mind the provisions of paragraph 39 of the
Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the Gen-
eral Assembly, 10 according to which qualitative and quan-
titative disarmament measures are both important for
halting the arms race and efforts to that end must include
negotiations on the limitation and cessation of the qualita-
tive improvement of armaments, especially weapons of
mass destruction, and the development of new means of
warfare,
Recalling the decision contained in paragraph 77 of the
Final Document to the effect that, in order to help to pre-
vent a qualitative arms race and so that scientific and tech-
nological achievements might ultimately be used solely for
peaceful purposes, effective measures should be taken to
prevent the emergence of new types of weapons of mass
destruction based on new scientific principles and achieve-
ments, and that efforts aiming at the prohibition of such
new types and new systems of weapons of mass destruc-
tion should be appropriately pursued,
Expressing once again its firm belief, in the light of the
decisions adopted at the tenth special session, in the
importance of concluding an agreement or agreements to
prevent the use of scientific and technological progress for
the development of new types of weapons of mass destruc-
tion and new systems of such weapons,
Noting that in the course of its session in 1985 the Con-
ference on Disarmament considered the item entitled
76
General Assembly- Fortieth Session
"New types of weapons of mass destruction and new sys-
tems of such weapons; radiological weapons",
Convinced that all ways and means should be utilized to
prevent the development and manufacture of new types of
weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such
weapons,
Taking into consideration the part of the report of the
Conference on Disarmament relating to this question, 31
I. Reaffirms the necessity of prohibiting the develop-
ment and manufacture of new types of weapons of mass
destruction and new systems of such weapons;
2.
Requests the Conference on Disarmament, in the
light of its existing priorities, to keep constantly under
review, with the assistance of a periodically convened
group of experts, the question of the prohibition of the
development and manufacture of new types of weapons of
mass destruction and new systems of such weapons with a
view to making, when necessary, recommendations on
undertaking specific negotiations on the identified types of
such weapons;
3. Calls upon all States to contribute, immediately fol-
lowing the identification of any new type of weapon of
mass destruction, to the commencement of negotiations
on its prohibition with the simultaneous introduction of a
moratorium on its practical development;
4.
Once again urges all States to refrain from any
action that could adversely affect the efforts aimed at the
prevention of the emergence of new types of weapons of
mass destruction and new systems of such weapons;
5.
Calls again upon all States to undertake efforts to
ensure that ultimately scientific and technological achieve-
ments may be used solely for peaceful purposes;
6.
Requests the Secretary-General to transmit to the
Conference on Disarmament all documents relating to the
consideration of this item by the General Assembly at its
fortieth session;
7.
Requests the Conference on Disarmament to submit
a report on the results achieved to the General Assembly
for consideration at its forty-first session;
8.
Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its
forty-first session the item entitled "Prohibition of the
development and manufacture of new types of weapons of
mass destruction and new systems of such weapons:
report of the Conference on Disarmament".
113th plenary meeting
12 December 1985
40/91. Reduction of military budgets
A
The General Assembly,
Deeply concerned about the ever-spiralling arms race
and growing military expenditures, which constitute a
heavy burden for the economies of all nations and have
extremely harmful effects on world peace and security,
Reaffirming once again the provisions of paragraph 89
of the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the
General Assembly, 10 the first special session devoted to
disarmament, according to which the gradual reduction of
!11-ilitary budgets on a mutually agreed basis, for example,
m absolute figures or in terms of percentage, particularly
by nuclear-weapon States and other militarily significant
31 Official Records of the General Assembly, Fortieth Session, Supplement
No. 27 (A/40/27 and Corr. I), paras. 102 and IOS-109.
32 Ibid .. Twelfth Special Session. Annexes. agenda items 9 to 13 document
AIS-12/32, para. 62.
•
States, would contribute to curbing the arms race and
would increase the possibilities for the reallocation of
resources now being used for military purposes to econo-
mic and social development, particularly for the benefit of
the developing countries,
Convinced that the freezing and reduction of military
budgets would have favourable consequences on the world
economic and financial situation and might facilitate
efforts made to increase international assistance for the
developing countries,
Recalling that at its twelfth special session, the second
special session devoted to disarmament, all Member States
unanimously and categorically reaffirmed the validity of
the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session, as well
as their solemn commitment to it, 32
Recalling also that, in the Declaration of the 1980s as
the Second United Nations Disarmament Decade, it is
provided that during this period renewed efforts should be
made to reach agreement on the reduction of military
expenditures and the reallocation of resources thus saved
to economic and social development, especially for the
benefit of developing countries, 33
Recallingfurtherthe provisions of its resolution 34/83 F
of l l December 1979, subsequently reaffirmed in its reso-
lutions 35/142 A of 12 December 1980, 36/82 A of 9
December 1981, 37/95 A of 13 December 1982, 38/184 A
of20 December 1983 and 39/64 A of 12 December 1984,
in which it considered that a new impetus should be given
to the endeavours to achieve agreements to freeze, reduce
or otherwise restrain, in a balanced manner, military
expenditure, including adequate measures of verification
satisfactory to all parties concerned,
Aware of the various proposals submitted by Member
States and of the activities carried out so far within the
framework of the United Nations in the field of the reduc-
tion of military budgets,
Considering that the identification and elaboration of
the principles that should govern further actions of States
in freezing and reducing military budgets and the other
current activities within the framework of the United
Nations related to the question of the reduction of military
budgets should be regarded as having the fundamental
objective of reaching international agreements on the
reduction of military expenditures,
Taking note of the report of the Disarmament Commis-
sion on the work accomplished during its session in 1985
on the item entitled "Reduction of military budgets",34
I.
Declares agam its conviction that it is possible to
achieve international agreements on the reduction of mili-
tary budgets without prejudice to the right of all States to
undiminished security, self-defence and sovereignty;
2.
Appeals to all States, in particular to the most heav-
ily armed States, pending the conclusion of agreements on
the reduction of military expenditures, to exercise self-
restraint in their military expenditures with a view to real-
locating the funds thus saved to economic and social
development, particularly for the benefit of developing
countnes;
3.
Reaffirms that the human and material resources
released through the reduction of military expenditures
coul~ be reallocated for economic and social development,
particularly for the benefit of the developing countries;
4.
Requests the Disarmament Commission to continue
the consideration of the item entitled "Reduction of mili-
33 See resolution 35146. annex. para. 15.
34 See Official Records o( the General Assemblv. For11e1h Session. Supple-
men1 No. 42 (A/40/42). para. 28
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