United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/69/66

Sixty-ninth session

Agenda item 96

The General Assembly,

Recognizing the right of any group of States to conclude regional treaties in order to ensure the total absence of nuclear weapons in their respective territories, as established by article VII of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,

Recalling the provisions on nuclear-weapon-free zones of the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly, the first special session devoted to disarmament,

Welcoming the important contribution of the treaties of Tlatelolco, Rarotonga, Bangkok and Pelindaba and the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia, as well as the Antarctic Treaty, to the achievement of the objectives of nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, and towards freeing the southern hemisphere and adjacent areas covered by those treaties from nuclear weapons,

Recalling its resolution 67/52 of 3 December 2012 on Mongolia’s international security and nuclear-weapon-free status,

Reaffirming the conviction that, pending the total elimination of nuclear weapons, the establishment and maintenance of nuclear-weapon-free zones enhances global and regional peace and security, strengthens the nuclear non proliferation regime and contributes towards realizing the objectives of nuclear disarmament,

Urging States that have not yet established nuclear-weapon-free-zone treaties to accelerate efforts in this direction, particularly in the Middle East, through agreements freely arrived at among the States of the region concerned, in accordance with the provisions of the Final Document of the first special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament and the principles adopted by the Disarmament Commission in 1999,

Taking note of paragraph 172 of the Final Document of the Sixteenth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held in Tehran from 26 to 31 August 2012, in which the Heads of State and Government stated their belief that those nuclear-weapon-free zones were positive steps and important measures towards strengthening global nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation,

Welcoming the proclamation of the Latin American and Caribbean region as a Zone of Peace, which was made on the occasion of the Second Summit of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, held in Havana on 28 and 29 January 2014,

Welcoming also the signing of the legally binding Protocol to the Treaty on a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in Central Asia by the nuclear-weapon States in New York on 6 May 2014,

Recalling that concerned States are encouraged to ratify the nuclear-weapon-free zone treaties and the relevant protocols thereto, and to constructively consult and cooperate to bring about the entry into force of the relevant legally binding protocols to all such nuclear-weapon-free-zone treaties, which include negative security assurances, as expressed in the action plan adopted without a vote in 2010 at the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,

Recognizing the progress made on increased collaboration within and between zones at the first and second Conferences of States Parties and Signatories to Treaties that Establish Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones, held in Mexico City from 26 to 28 April 2005 and in New York on 30 April 2010, respectively, at which States reaffirmed their need to cooperate in order to achieve their common objectives,

Welcoming the third preparatory meeting for the third Conference of States Parties and Signatories to Treaties that Establish Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones and Mongolia, held in New York on 7 May 2014, at which it was agreed to hold a series of informal meetings in New York to discuss the draft outcome document for the third Conference, to be held in 2015,

1. Decides to convene the third Conference of States Parties and Signatories to Treaties that Establish Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones and Mongolia as a one-day Conference, in New York in 2015;

2. Also decides that the objective of the Conference will be to consider ways and means to enhance consultations and cooperation among States parties and signatories, the treaty agencies and other interested States, with the purpose of promoting coordination and convergence in the implementation of the provisions of the treaties and in strengthening the regime of nuclear disarmament and non proliferation;

3. Urges the States parties and signatories to treaties that have established nuclear-weapon-free zones to develop activities of cooperation and coordination in order to promote their common objectives in the framework of the Conference;

4. Requests the Secretary-General to provide a conference room at United Nations Headquarters for the one-day Conference in 2015, along with the necessary assistance and conference services as may be required for the Conference.

62nd plenary meeting 2 December 2014