A/RES/72/70 GA

United Nations A/RES/72/70 General Assembly Distr.: General 13 December 2017 17-21813 (E) 141217 *1721813* Seventy-second session Agenda item 105 Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 4 December 2017 [on the report of the First Committee (A/72/415)] 72/70. Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty The General Assembly, Reiterating that the cessation of nuclear-weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions constitutes an effective nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation measure, and convinced that this is a meaningful step in the realization of a systematic process for achieving nuclear disarmament, Recalling that the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, adopted by the General Assembly by its resolution 50/245 of 10 September 1996, was opened for signature on 24 September 1996, Stressing that a universal and effectively verifiable Treaty constitutes a fundamental instrument in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and will be a major contribution to international peace and security, Stressing also the vital importance and urgency of achieving the entry into force of the Treaty, as noted also in Security Council resolution 2310 (2016) of 23 September 2016, and affirming its resolute determination, 21 years after the Treaty was opened for signature, to achieve its entry into force, Encouraged by the signing of the Treaty by 183 States, including 41 of the 44 whose ratification is needed for its entry into force, and welcoming the ratification of the Treaty by 166 States, including 36 of the 44 whose ratification is needed for its entry into force, among which there are 3 nuclear-weapon States, Recalling its resolution 71/86 of 5 December 2016, Recalling also the adoption by consensus of the conclusions and recommendations for follow-on actions of the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,1 in which the Conference, __________________ 1 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document, vol. I (NPT/CONF.2010/50 (Vol. I)), part I, Conclusions and recommendations for follow-on actions. A/RES/72/70 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty 17-21813 2/3 inter alia, reaffirmed the vital importance of the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty as a core element of the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime and included specific actions to be taken in support of the entry into force of the Treaty, Welcoming the 20 Years CTBT Ministerial Meeting, held in Vienna on 13 and 14 June 2016, which brought together leaders and policymakers to review and reinvigorate efforts to achieve the entry into force of the Treaty, Welcoming also the Final Declaration adopted by the tenth Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, held in New York on 20 September 2017, convened pursuant to article XIV of the Treaty, and recalling the Joint Ministerial Statement on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, adopted at the ministerial meeting held in New York on 21 September 2016,2 Noting that the group of eminent persons, established to support the article XIV process, met in Vienna on 14 June 2016, where they called for new thinking and further engagement with the leadership of the remaining eight annex 2 States with the aim of facilitating their respective ratification processes, Noting also the establishment in early 2016 of a youth group open to all students and young graduates who are directing their careers towards contributing to global peace and security and who wish to actively engage in promoting the Treaty and its verification regime, Welcoming continuing progress in the development of the Treaty’s verification regime, which advances the Treaty’s primary non-proliferation and disarmament objective, including the completion in June 2017 of the hydroacoustic part of the International Monitoring System, Recognizing the civil and scientific benefits provided by the CTBT global monitoring system, 1. Stresses the vital importance and urgency of signature and ratification, without delay and without conditions, in order to achieve the earliest entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty;3 2. Welcomes the contributions by the signatory States to the work of the Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization, in particular its efforts to ensure that the verification regime of the Treaty will be capable of meeting the verification requirements of the Treaty upon its entry into force, in accordance with article IV of the Treaty, and encourages their continuation; 3. Underlines the need to maintain momentum towards completion of all elements of the verification regime; 4. Urges all States not to carry out nuclear-weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosions, to maintain their moratoriums in this regard and to refrain from acts that would defeat the object and purpose of the Treaty, while stressing that these measures do not have the same permanent and legally binding effect as the entry into force of the Treaty; 5. Condemns in the strongest terms the nuclear tests conducted by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on 3 September 2017 and 6 January and 9 September 2016, as expressed by the Security Council in its resolutions 2375 (2017) of 11 September 2017, 2321 (2016) of 30 November 2016 and 2270 (2016) of 2 March 2016, recalls Council resolutions 1718 (2006) of 14 October 2006, __________________ 2 A/71/736. 3 See resolution 50/245 and A/50/1027. Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty A/RES/72/70 3/3 17-21813 1874 (2009) of 12 June 2009 and 2094 (2013) of 7 March 2013, urges full compliance with the obligations under the relevant resolutions, including that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea shall not conduct any further nuclear tests, and reaffirms its support for the goal of complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula in a peaceful manner, including through the Six-Party Talks; 6. Urges all States that have not yet signed the Treaty, in particular those whose ratification is needed for its entry into force, to sign and ratify it as soon as possible; 7. Urges all States that have signed but not yet ratified the Treaty, in particular those whose ratification is needed for its entry into force, to accelerate their ratification processes with a view to ensuring their earliest successful conclusion; 8. Encourages further expressions from among the remaining States whose ratification is needed for the Treaty to enter into force of their intention to pursue and complete the ratification process; 9. Urges all States to remain seized of the issue at the highest political level and, where in a position to do so, to promote adherence to the Treaty through bilateral and joint outreach, seminars and other means; 10. Welcomes the report of the Secretary-General submitted pursuant to resolution 70/73 of 7 December 2015;4 11. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-third session the item entitled “Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty”. 62nd plenary meeting 4 December 2017 __________________ 4 A/71/134 and A/71/134/Add.1/Rev.1.

UN Project. “A/RES/72/70.” UN Project, https://un-project.org/votes/resolution/A-RES-72-70/. Accessed .

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