UNdemocracy - General Assembly Session 61 meeting 67

Date	6 December 2006

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A-61-PV.67 2006-12-06 15:00 6 December 2006 [[6 December]] [[2006]] /

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Agenda item 90

General and complete disarmament

Report of the First Committee (A/61/394)

The Acting President

The Assembly has before it 31 draft resolutions recommended by the First Committee in paragraph 108 of its report and one draft decision recommended by the Committee in paragraph 109 of the same report.

The Assembly will now take a decision on the 31 draft resolutions and one draft decision, one by one. After all the decisions have been taken, representatives will again have the opportunity to explain their votes or positions.

Will delegations please turn to section III, paragraph 108, of document A/61/394.

I give the floor to the representative of Cuba, who wishes to speak in explanation of vote before action is taken.

Mr. Benítez Versón (Cuba)

Cuba would like to explain its position on draft resolution XVII, entitled "Transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities", recommended by the First Committee in document A/61/394, under agenda item 90.

An arms race in outer space would pose a grave danger to international peace and security. Cuba therefore believes that it is both appropriate and necessary to continue to develop transparency and confidence-building measures at the international level with regard to outer space. Such measures would contribute to the prevention of an arms race in outer space and to the promotion of international cooperation. By taking concrete measures, such as prior notification, verification and follow-up, it would be possible to achieve greater transparency and predictability in outer space activities.

Cuba also believes that the Conference on Disarmament should play the principal role in negotiating a multilateral agreement on the prevention of an arms race in outer space in all its aspects.

Having considered the merits of the draft resolution, Cuba has decided to add its name to the list of sponsors. We request the Secretariat to take note of our decision to co-sponsor the draft resolution.

The Acting President

We turn first to draft resolution I, entitled "Missiles".

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Draft resolution I was adopted by 115 votes to 7, with 54 abstentions (resolution 61/59).

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Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cuba, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia, Moldova, Monaco, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Timor-Leste, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United States, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

The Acting President

Draft resolution II is entitled "Convening of the fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament".

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Draft resolution II was adopted by 175 votes to 1 (resolution 61/60).

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The Acting President

Draft resolution III is entitled "Measures to uphold the authority of the 1925 Geneva Protocol".

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Draft resolution III was adopted by 173 votes to none, with 4 abstentions (resolution 61/61).

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The Acting President

Draft resolution IV is entitled "Promotion of multilateralism in the area of disarmament and non-proliferation".

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Draft resolution IV was adopted by 120 votes to 7, with 51 abstentions (resolution 61/62).

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The Acting President

Draft resolution V is entitled "Observance of environmental norms in the drafting and implementation of agreements on disarmament and arms control".

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Draft resolution V was adopted by 175 votes to 1, with 4 abstentions (resolution 61/63).

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The Acting President

Draft resolution VI is entitled "Relationship between disarmament and development".

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Draft resolution VI was adopted by 178 votes to 1, with 2 abstentions (resolution 61/64).

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The Acting President

Draft resolution VII is entitled "Towards a nuclear-weapon-free world: accelerating the implementation of nuclear disarmament commitments".

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Draft resolution VII was adopted by 157 votes to 7, with 13 abstentions (resolution 61/65).

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The Acting President

Draft resolution VIII is entitled "The illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects".

I give the floor to the representative of South Africa, who wishes to speak in explanation of vote before the voting.

Mr. Paschalis (South Africa)

I am taking the floor to propose a minor editorial correction to draft resolution A/C.1/61/L.15, "The illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects".

As delegations are aware, the draft resolution is coordinated annually on a rotational basis among Colombia, Japan and South Africa, and was this year introduced by my delegation.

The proposed oral correction is purely technical in nature. It was raised with the coordinators by the Official Records Editing Section and relates to operative paragraph 2 of the text of the draft resolution. The Editing Section pointed out, quite correctly, that the words "a final report" should, in fact, be replaced by the words "an outcome document". That is, indeed, a more accurate reflection of the result of the Review Conference referred to in operative paragraph 2.

While a report was indeed issued at the end of the Review Conference, it was merely of a procedural nature, and there was, of course, no outcome document appended to that report.

The proposed revised operative paragraph 2 of draft resolution A/C.1/61/L.15 would then read as follows:

"Regrets the fact that the Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Programme of Action was not able to agree to conclude an outcome document".

As this proposed oral correction in no way changes the substance of either operative paragraph 2 or the draft resolution as a whole, my delegation trusts that it will enjoy consensus.

The Acting President

A recorded vote has been requested.

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Draft resolution VIII, as orally corrected, was adopted by 176 votes to 1 (resolution 61/66).

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The Acting President

Draft resolution IX is entitled "Declaration of a fourth disarmament decade". A recorded vote has been requested.

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Draft resolution IX was adopted by 123 votes to 1, with 52 abstentions (resolution 61/67).

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The Acting President

Draft resolution X is entitled "Implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction". The First Committee adopted draft resolution X without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

Draft resolution X was adopted (resolution 61/68).

The Acting President

Draft resolution XI is entitled "Nuclear-weapon-free southern hemisphere and adjacent areas". Separate votes have been requested on the words "and South Asia" in operative paragraph 5 and on operative paragraph 5 as a whole of draft resolution XI. As there is no objection to those requests, I shall first put to the vote the words "and South Asia" in operative paragraph 5 of draft resolution XI, on which a separate, recorded vote has been requested.

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The words "and South Asia" were retained by 162 votes to 2, with 9 abstentions.

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The Acting President

I shall now put to the vote operative paragraph 5 as a whole, on which a separate, recorded vote has been requested.

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Operative paragraph 5 as a whole was retained by 164 votes to 1, with 9 abstentions.

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The Acting President

I shall now put to the vote draft resolution XI as a whole. A recorded vote has been requested.

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Draft resolution XI as a whole was adopted by 167 votes to 3, with 9 abstentions (resolution 61/69).

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The Acting President

Draft resolution XII is entitled "2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and its Preparatory Committee". A recorded vote has been requested.

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Draft resolution XII was adopted by 175 votes to none, with 3 abstentions (resolution 61/70).

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The Acting President

Draft resolution XIII is entitled "Assistance to States for curbing the illicit traffic in small arms and light weapons and collecting them". The First Committee adopted draft resolution XIII without a vote. May I take it that the Assembly wishes to do the same?

Draft resolution XIII was adopted (resolution 61/71).

The Acting President

Draft resolution XIV is entitled "Problems arising from the accumulation of conventional ammunition stockpiles in surplus".

A separate vote has been requested on operative paragraph 7 of draft resolution XIV. As there is no objection to that request, I shall put to the vote operative paragraph 7 of draft resolution XIV, on which a separate, recorded vote has been requested.

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Operative paragraph 7 of draft resolution XIV was retained by 172 votes to 2.

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The Acting President

I will now put to the vote draft resolution XIV as a whole. A recorded vote has been requested.