The General Assembly,
Having considered the annual report of the Disarmament Commission,
Considering the role that the Disarmament Commission has been called upon to play and the contribution that it should make in examining and submitting recommendations on various problems in the field of disarmament and in the promotion of the implementation of the relevant decisions of the tenth special session,
Noting the support for the proposal to include a new item in the agenda of the 1993 substantive session of the Disarmament Commission, entitled "General guidelines for non-proliferation, with special emphasis on weapons of mass destruction",
Also noting the support for consideration of the inclusion of a new item in the agenda of the 1994 substantive session of the Disarmament Commission, entitled "International arms transfer, with particular reference to resolution 46/36 H of 6 December 1991",
Recognizing the need to improve further the effective functioning of the Disarmament Commission, and bearing in mind the experience of the 1992 substantive session, when the agenda item on objective information on military matters was successfully concluded,
Recalling its resolution 46/38 A of 6 December 1991,
1. Takes note of the annual report of the Disarmament Commission;
2. Commends the Disarmament Commission for its adoption by consensus of a set of guidelines and recommendations for objective information on military matters, which were recommended to the General Assembly for consideration, pursuant to the adopted "Ways and means to enhance the functioning of the Disarmament Commission";
3. Notes with satisfaction that the Disarmament Commission has successfully implemented its reform programme and has made considerable progress on other substantive items on its agenda;
4. Recalls the role of the Disarmament Commission as the specialized, deliberative body within the United Nations multilateral disarmament machinery that allows for in-depth deliberations on specific disarmament issues, leading to the submission of concrete recommendations on those issues;
5. Requests the Disarmament Commission to continue its work in accordance with its mandate, as set forth in paragraph 118 of the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly, and with paragraph 3 of resolution 37/78 H of 9 December 1982, and to that end to make every effort to achieve specific recommendations on the items on its agenda, taking into account the adopted "Ways and means to enhance the functioning of the Disarmament Commission";
6. Stresses the importance for the Disarmament Commission to work on the basis of a relevant agenda of disarmament topics, thereby enabling the Commission to concentrate its efforts and thus optimize its progress on specific subjects in accordance with resolution 37/78 H;
7. Recommends that the Disarmament Commission, at its 1992 organizational session, adopt the following items for consideration at its 1993 substantive session:
(1) Process of nuclear disarmament in the framework of international peace and security, with the objective of the elimination of nuclear weapons;
(2) Regional approach to disarmament within the context of global security;
(3) The role of science and technology in the context of international security, disarmament and other related fields;
8. Also requests that the Disarmament Commission, at the aforementioned organizational meeting, consider the following matters:
(a) The objective of moving the agenda of the Disarmament Commission to a three-item phased approach with one item in the first year of consideration, one item in its middle year and one item in its concluding year, with the result that, in principle, one item is added and one item is concluded, respectively, at each substantive session;
(b) That, in furtherance of the foregoing, the 1993 substantive session should be considered as a transitional year and therefore should consider whether:
(i) Two items on the current agenda, namely, those items referred to in paragraph 7 (2) and (3) above, respectively, should be concluded;
(ii) One item, namely, that referred to in paragraph 7 (1) above, should be held over for conclusion at the next substantive session in 1994;
(iii) One new item should be included in the substantive agenda;
9. Further requests the Disarmament Commission to meet for a period not exceeding four weeks during 1993 and to submit a substantive report to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session;
10. Requests the Secretary-General to transmit to the Disarmament Commission the annual report of the Conference on Disarmament, together with all the official records of the forty-seventh session of the General Assembly relating to disarmament matters, and to render all assistance that the Commission may require for implementing the present resolution;
11. Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure full provision to the Commission and its subsidiary bodies of interpretation and translation facilities in the official languages and to assign, as a matter of priority, all the necessary resources and services to that end;
12. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its forty-eighth session the item entitled "Report of the Disarmament Commission".
81st plenary meeting
9 December 1992
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 43/75 G of 7 December 1988 and 44/116 E of 15 December 1989,
Taking note of the report of the Disarmament Commission, containing the text, adopted by the Commission at its 1992 session, of the guidelines and recommendations for objective information on military matters,
Expressing its appreciation for the work accomplished by the Disarmament Commission in finalizing the text of the guidelines and recommendations,
Reaffirming its firm conviction that a better flow of objective information on military matters can help to relieve international tension and contribute to the building of confidence among States on a global, regional or subregional level and to the conclusion of concrete disarmament agreements,
Appealing to all States to consider the widest possible use of objective information on military matters,
Noting with satisfaction the encouraging results of specific measures agreed upon and implemented in certain regions,
1. Endorses the guidelines and recommendations for objective information on military matters as adopted by the Disarmament Commission at its 1992 substantive session;
2. Recommends the guidelines and recommendations to all States for implementation, fully taking into account specific political, military and other conditions prevailing in a region, on the basis of initiatives and with the agreement of the States of the region concerned;
3. Invites all States to provide relevant information to the Secretary-General regarding their implementation of the guidelines and recommendations not later than 31 May 1994;
4. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report on the implementation of the guidelines and recommendations, on the basis of national reports on accumulated relevant experience, to the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session;
5. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its forty-ninth session an item entitled "Implementation of the guidelines and recommendations for objective information on military matters".
81st plenary meeting
9 December 1992
The General Assembly,
Noting the momentous developments of unprecedented magnitude that have taken place in international relations recently, and welcoming the important achievements of late in the areas of arms limitation and disarmament,
Noting with satisfaction the increasing role and prestige of the United Nations as a focal point for coordinating and harmonizing the efforts of States,
Emphasizing anew the need for and the importance of world public opinion in support of disarmament efforts in all their aspects,
Also noting with satisfaction the broad and active support by Governments and international and national organizations of the decision taken by the General Assembly at its tenth special session, the first special session devoted to disarmament, regarding the proclamation of the week starting 24 October, the day of the founding of the United Nations, as a week devoted to fostering the objectives of disarmament,
Recalling the recommendations concerning the World Disarmament Campaign contained in annex V to the Concluding Document of the Twelfth Special Session of the General Assembly, the second special session devoted to disarmament, in particular the recommendation that Disarmament Week should continue to be widely observed,
Noting the support for the further observance of Disarmament Week expressed by Member States at the fifteenth special session of the General Assembly, the third special session devoted to disarmament,
Recognizing the significance of the annual observance of Disarmament Week, including by the United Nations,
1. Takes note with appreciation of the report of the Secretary- General on the follow-up measures undertaken by Governments and non- governmental organizations in holding Disarmament Week;
2. Commends all States and international and national governmental and non-governmental organizations for their active support for and participation in Disarmament Week;
3. Invites all States that so desire, in carrying out appropriate measures at the local level on the occasion of Disarmament Week, to take into account the elements of the model programme for Disarmament Week prepared by the Secretary-General;
4. Invites Governments and international and national non-governmental organizations to continue to take an active part in Disarmament Week and to inform the Secretary-General of the activities undertaken;
5. Invites the Secretary-General to continue to use the United Nations information organs as widely as possible to promote better understanding among the world public of disarmament problems and the objectives of Disarmament Week;
6. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fiftieth session, the year of the fiftieth anniversary of the United Nations, the item entitled "Disarmament Week".
81st plenary meeting
9 December 1992
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 45/62 F, adopted without a vote on 4 December 1990,
Reconfirming its support for the guidelines for appropriate types of confidence-building measures and for the implementation of such measures on a global or regional level as endorsed in resolution 43/78 H, adopted without a vote on 7 December 1988,
Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General on experience reported by Member States with the implementation of confidence-building measures,
Noting with satisfaction the encouraging results of specific confidence-building measures agreed upon and implemented in some regions and, in particular, of measures creating confidence by contributing to disarmament and arms control and by promoting constraint in the military field,
Realizing with deep concern that at the same time tensions in other regions rise and that in some places violent armed conflicts have erupted,
Considering that confidence-building measures, especially when applied in a comprehensive manner, can be conducive to achieving structures of security based on cooperation and openness and thus contribute to the wider objective of the renunciation of the threat or use of force,
Welcoming recent progress in the promotion of transparency in the military field as a cornerstone for confidence-building through the finalization in the Disarmament Commission at its 1992 session of its work on the agenda item entitled "Objective information on military matters" and through the inclusion of the item entitled "Transparency in armaments" in the agenda of the Conference on Disarmament,
Bearing in mind that confidence-building measures pursued at the regional level can contribute to the development of global security,
Pointing to the ongoing elaboration and implementation of confidence- and security-building measures within the framework of the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe with a view to building on the foundations already laid for cooperative security in Europe,
Aware that there are situations peculiar to specific regions that have a bearing on the nature of the confidence-building measures feasible in those regions,
1. Stresses the need for the development of confidence-building measures as a concrete and continuous process to help to prevent the use of armed force as a means of resolving political conflicts;
2. Recommends the guidelines for appropriate types of confidence- building measures to all States for implementation, taking fully into account the specific political, military and other conditions prevailing in a region, on the basis of initiatives and with the agreement and cooperation of the States of the region concerned;
3. Also recommends to all States and regions that have started to implement confidence-building measures to pursue further and strengthen this process;
4. Appeals to all States to consider the widest possible use of confidence-building measures in their international relations, including bilateral, regional and global negotiations, as an important step towards prevention of conflict and, in times of political tension and crisis, as an instrument for peaceful settlement of conflicts;
5. Requests the Conference on Disarmament to pursue actively its work on the agenda item entitled "Transparency in armaments", which includes consideration and elaboration of universal and non-discriminatory practical means to increase openness and transparency in military matters;
6. Invites the Secretary-General to continue to collect relevant information from all Member States;
7. Appeals to all Member States that have not yet done so to make their contribution to the report of the Secretary-General;
8. Decides to include in the provisional agenda for its forty-ninth session the item entitled "Implementation of the guidelines for appropriate types of confidence-building measures".
81st plenary meeting
9 December 1992
The General Assembly,
Having considered the report of the Conference on Disarmament,
Convinced that the Conference on Disarmament, as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community, has the primary role in substantive negotiations on priority questions of disarmament,
Considering, in this respect, that the present international climate should give additional impetus to multilateral negotiations with the aim of reaching concrete agreements,
Welcoming the conclusion of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament on the draft Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction, which has reaffirmed the need for and the importance of the Conference as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community,
Noting with satisfaction the results achieved so far on the subject of the improved and effective functioning of the Conference on Disarmament, including the decision to carry out consultations on the issues of the membership and agenda of the Conference, and the decision of the Conference, to continue the process at its 1993 session,
1. Reaffirms the role of the Conference on Disarmament as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community;
2. Welcomes the determination of the Conference on Disarmament to fulfil that role in the light of the evolving international situation with a view to making early substantive progress on priority items of its agenda;
3. Encourages the ongoing review of the agenda, membership and methods of work of the Conference on Disarmament;
4. Requests the Conference on Disarmament to submit a report on its work to the General Assembly at its forty-eighth session;
5. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its forty-eighth session the item entitled "Report of the Conference on Disarmament".
81st plenary meeting
9 December 1992
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 34/83 M of 11 December 1979, in which it requested the Secretary-General to establish the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research on the basis of the recommendations contained in the report of the Secretary-General,
Reaffirming its resolution 39/148 H of 17 December 1984, in which it approved the Statute of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research, renewed the invitations to Governments to consider making voluntary contributions to the Institute and requested the Secretary-General to continue to give the Institute administrative and other support,
Recalling also its resolution 42/42 J of 30 November 1987, in which it took note with appreciation of the report of the Advisory Board on Disarmament Studies and noted that the establishment of the Institute offered new opportunities regarding research in the field of disarmament,
Recalling further its resolution 45/62 G of 4 December 1990, in which it requested the Institute to prepare, with the assistance of independent experts, a research report on the economic aspects of disarmament and to report to the General Assembly, through the Secretary-General, at its forty-seventh session,
Reaffirming the need for the international community to have access to independent and in-depth research on disarmament, in particular on emerging problems and the foreseeable consequences of disarmament,
Noting in this regard the importance of research on the economic aspects of disarmament,
Having considered the annual report of the Director of the Institute and the report of the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters acting in its capacity as Board of Trustees of the Institute,
1. Welcomes the research report of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research entitled "Economic aspects of disarmament: disarmament as an investment process", as transmitted by the Secretary-General to the General Assembly;
2. Commends the report to the attention of Member States and encourages them to give active consideration, in particular, to the economic principles for disarmament contained in the executive summary of the report;
3. Requests the Secretary-General to give the report the widest possible circulation.
81st plenary meeting
9 December 1992 .
