Security Council adopts resolution for nuclear-free world

• Source: Xinhua
• [22:13 September 24 2009]
• Comments

Participants take part in the Summit on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament at the UN headquarters in New York, the United States, Sept. 24, 2009. The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons in a bid to seek a safer world for all, and to create conditions for a world without nuclear weapons.

The UN Security Council on Thursday unanimously adopted a resolution to stop the proliferation of nuclear weapons in a bid to seek a safer world for all and to create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons.

The resolution was adopted shortly after US President Barack Obama opened the Summit on Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament, the first of its kind in the history of the 15-nation UN body.  The United States holds the rotating Council presidency in September.

It was the Security Council's fifth summit meetings at the level of heads of state since the UN body was set up in 1946 to shoulder the primary responsibility for the maintenance of peace and security in the world. It was also the first time a US president presided over a meeting of the Security Council.

The Security Council resolves to "seek a safer world for all and to create the conditions for a world without nuclear weapons, in accordance with the goals of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT)," the resolution said.

The resolution added that the measures will be taken "in a way that promotes international stability, and based on the principle of undiminished security for all."

The newly approved document, known as Resolution 1887, was adopted without any direct reference to any country, as announced earlier this month by Susan Rice, the US ambassador to the UN.

The resolution calls upon all state parties to the NPT "to cooperate so that the 2010 NPT Review Conference can successfully strengthen the Treaty and set realistic and achievable goals in al the Treaty's three pillars: non-proliferation, the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, and disarmament."

The Security Council calls upon state parties to the NPT "to comply fully with all their obligations and fulfil their commitments under the treaty," the resolution said.

The Security Council also calls upon "all states that are not parties to the NPT to accede to the treaty as non-nuclear-weapon states so as to achieve its universality at an early date, and pending their accession to the treaty, to adhere to its terms," the resolution said.

The resolution "calls upon all states to refrain from conducting a nuclear test explosion and to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), thereby bringing the treaty into force at an early date."

The Security Council "calls upon all non-nuclear-weapon States party to the NPT that have yet to bring into force a comprehensive safeguards agreement or a modified small quantities protocol to do so immediately," the resolution said, adding that the council "calls upon all states to sign, ratify and implement an additional protocol, which together with comprehensive safeguards agreements constitute essential elements of the IAEA safeguards system."

The Security Council calls upon all states "to manage responsibly and minimize to the greatest extent that is technically and economically feasible the use of highly enriched uranium for civilian purposes, including by working to convert research reactors and radioisotope production processes to the use of low enriched uranium fuels and targets," the resolution said.

The Security Council "calls upon all states to improve their national capabilities to detect, deter, and disrupt illicit trafficking in nuclear materials throughout their territories, and calls upon those States in a position to do so to work to enhance international partnerships and capacity-building in this regard," the resolution said.