The General Assembly,
 
      Recalling its resolution 49/66 of 15 December 1994 on objective
information on military matters, including transparency of military
expenditures,
 
      Also recalling its resolution 35/142 B of 12 December 1980, which
introduced the United Nations system for the standardized reporting of
military expenditures, and its resolution 48/62 of 16 December 1993, calling
upon all Member States to participate in it, and its resolution 47/54 B of 9
December 1992, endorsing the guidelines and recommendations for objective
information on military matters and inviting Member States to provide relevant
information to the Secretary-General regarding their implementation,
 
      Noting that since then national reports on military expenditures and on
the guidelines and recommendations for objective information on military
matters have been submitted by a number of Member States belonging to
different geographic regions,
 
      Welcoming the report of the Secretary-General on ways and means to
implement the guidelines and recommendations for objective information on
military matters, including, in particular, how to strengthen and broaden
participation in the United Nations system for the standardized reporting of
military expenditures,
 
      Expressing its appreciation to the Secretary-General for providing
Member States with the reports on military expenditures in standardized form
reported by States and on guidelines and recommendations for objective
information on military matters,
 
      Welcoming the decision of many Member States to exchange and to publish
information annually on their military budgets and to implement the guidelines
and recommendations for objective information on military matters, as
appropriate,
 
      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 and to the conclusion of
concrete disarmament agreements,
 
      Convinced that the improvement of international relations forms a sound
basis for promoting further openness and transparency in all military matters,
 
      Recalling that the guidelines and recommendations for objective
information on military matters recommended certain areas for further
consideration, such as the improvement of the United Nations system for the
standardized reporting of military expenditures,
 
      1.    Recommends the guidelines and recommendations for objective
information on military matters to all Member 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;
 
      2.    Calls upon all Member States to report annually, by 30 April, to
the Secretary-General their military expenditures for the latest fiscal year
for which data are available, using, for the time being, the reporting
instrument as recommended in its resolution 35/142 B;
 
      3.    Requests the Secretary-General to circulate annually the reports
on military expenditures as received from Member States;
 
      4.    Also requests the Secretary-General to seek the views of Member
States and make recommendations on necessary changes to the content and
structure of the United Nations system for the standardized reporting of
military expenditures in order to strengthen and broaden participation, and to
submit a report within existing resources on the subject to the General
Assembly at its fifty-second session;
 
      5.    Calls upon all Member States, in time for the deliberation by the
General Assembly at its fifty-second session, to provide the Secretary-General
with their views on ways and means to strengthen and broaden participation in
the United Nations system for the standardized reporting of military
expenditures, including necessary changes to its content and structure;
 
      6.    Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-second
session the item entitled "Objective information on military matters,
including transparency of military expenditures".