The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) met today in an organizational meeting but refrained from adopting its agenda and programme of work for the seventy-fourth session of the General Assembly after the Russian Federation protested the refusal by the United States, the host country, to issue visas to members of its delegation.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) elected Sacha Sergio Llorentty Solíz (Bolivia) as Chair on 4 June. (See Press Release GA/12149.)
Concluding its programme of work, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved 27 draft resolutions and decisions, including two separate proposals to create working groups within the disarmament machinery to develop rules for States on responsible behaviour in cyberspace.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved eight draft texts, including one calling for the universalization of the Arms Trade Treaty and the implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved eight draft texts, including one that would have the Assembly re-emphasize its support for the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) to continue to establish the facts surrounding allegations of chemical weapon use in Syria and identify, where possible, the perpetrators of such crimes.
Divergent views on how to rid the world of nuclear weapons dominated discussions in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today, as it reflected on action taken on several draft resolutions and decisions.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved 21 draft resolutions and 3 draft decisions, many by record vote, related to nuclear disarmament, including ones calling for the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.
Despite recent progress, the continued impasse in the Conference on Disarmament undercuts its credibility and raises doubt about its continued relevance, delegates stressed today, as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) took up its cluster on the disarmament machinery before concluding the thematic portion of its work.
While information and communications technologies can drive social and economic development, malicious use of these innovations could threaten global security, First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) delegates warned today as they exchanged views on ways to shield cyberspace from such threats.
Drawing attention to the daunting challenges and long-term consequences posed by explosive remnants of war, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) continued its debate on conventional weapons as delegates pointed to progress made through multilateral instruments in clearance operations.
