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The
Shameful U.S. Nuclear Record In 2003
Disarmament Votes At The United Nations
by John Burroughs,
Lawyers' Committee On Nuclear Policy, December 9, 2003
On December 8, 2003, the United Nations General Assembly voted
on this year’s resolutions on disarmament and security. The
United States consistently voted against the most important
resolutions on nuclear and space disarmament:
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: The United States cast the only
vote against this resolution calling for bringing the CTBT into
force. It was adopted by a vote of 173 to 1, with 4 abstentions.
Path to the total elimination of nuclear weapons: The United
States and India were the only countries to vote against this
resolution. Sponsored by Japan, it calls for compliance with
the program for transparent, verified, and irreversible reduction
and elimination of nuclear forces agreed by all states (including
the United States) participating in the 2000 Nuclear Nonproliferation
Treaty (NPT) review conference. It was adopted by a vote of
164 to 2, with 14 abstentions.
New Agenda for a nuclear-weapon-free world: Sponsored by Brazil,
Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Sweden and South Africa,
this resolution centers on a call for compliance with the 2000
NPT program and also addresses missile defenses, weaponization
of outer space, and reduction of non-strategic weapons. It was
adopted by a vote of 128 to 6, with 41 abstentions. The negative
votes came from the United States, France, India, Israel, Pakistan,
and the United Kingdom.
Obligation of nuclear disarmament: Paragraph one of the resolution
on follow-up to the 1996 opinion of the International Court
of Justice underlines the Court’s unanimous conclusion that
there is an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to
a conclusion negotiations on nuclear disarmament in all its
aspects. In a separate vote, the paragraph was approved by a
vote of 165 to 4, with 3 abstentions. The four countries voting
no were the United States, France, Israel, and Russia.
Prevention of an arms race in outer space: This resolution calling
for negotiations to prevent the weaponization of space was overwhelmingly
adopted by a vote of 174 to zero. Four countries abstained:
the United States, Israel, Micronesia, and the Marshall Islands.
For more information, see http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org
Source:
http://lcnp.org/disarmament/usgarecord.htm
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