A/HRC/27/51 need to stop the nuclear arms race and agree on the modalities of nuclear disarmament, the prevention of nuclear war, the prevention of an arms race in outer space, effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons, new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems including radiological weapons. In general terms it promotes a comprehensive programme of disarmament and transparency in armaments. However, since 1996 the Conference has failed to agree on any programme of work. It is encouraging, however, that other initiatives are emerging. Michael Møller, the Acting Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament, made reference to the Second Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons, held in Nayarit, Mexico, in March 2014,52 which built on the 2013 Oslo Conference53 and heightened the awareness of the catastrophic toll that any use, deliberate or accidental, of a nuclear bomb would have on every aspect of human life: “for humanity, real security and freedom from fear will never come about as long as nuclear weapons exist.”54 37. Delegations at the Conference on Disarmament, held in Geneva in May 2014, again endorsed the commitments made in New York on 24 September 2010 at the high-level meeting on revitalizing the work of the Conference on Disarmament,55 recalling the standard-setting of prior decades, including the Biological and Chemical Weapons Conventions, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty, and the Non-Proliferation Treaty. B. General Assembly resolutions and Secretary-General Pronouncements 38. The General Assembly adopts every year a resolution on disarmament and development with a focus on military spending. In resolution 68/37, it urged the international community to devote part of the resources made available by the implementation of disarmament and arms limitation agreements to economic and social development, with a view to reducing the ever-widening gap between developed and developing countries. The Assembly further expressed concern about nuclear weapons and the need to take measures to prevent any nuclear conflagration. In resolution 68/39, entitled “Towards a nuclear-weapon-free world: accelerating the implementation of nuclear disarmament commitments”, the goal of complete nuclear disarmament is reaffirmed and the creation of nuclear-free zones endorsed. In paragraph 11, all States are urged to pursue the 2010 commitments to revitalize the Conference on Disarmament resolution. 39. Similarly, the United Nations Secretary-General, in his speech of 24 March 2014 at the Nuclear Security Summit in The Hague, called on all nations to honour security guarantees: “clearly the time has come to strengthen the rule of law in both disarmament and non-proliferation. Commitments to undertake disarmament negotiations in good faith must be honoured. So, too, must security assurances provided to non-nuclear-weapon States by nuclear-weapon States.” He called on delegates to “address the legitimate interest of non-nuclear States in receiving unequivocal and legally-binding security assurances from nuclear-weapon States” and he concluded: “together we must ensure that nuclear weapons 52 53 54 55 14 See www.reachingcriticalwill.org/disarmament-fora/others/hinw/nayarit-2014/report. See John Borrie and Tim Caughley, After Oslo: Humanitarian Perspectives and the Changing Nuclear Weapons Discourse (Geneva, UNIDIR, 2013). See www.unog.ch/80256EDD006B8954/%28httpAssets%29/CCB0AA6D778C809EC1257CDE00 44CD66/$file/1316ASG+Moller%27s+address_AsDelivered.pdf. See www.un.org/News/Press/docs//2010/dcf457.doc.htm.

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