First Committee

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved six draft resolutions, including one on a legally binding instrument on the prevention of an arms race in outer space.

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today approved 16 draft resolutions and 2 decisions related to nuclear weapons, including one that would have the General Assembly call upon all States to take further steps and measures towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons, based on the principle of undiminished and increased security for all.

Calling for States to “put aside their inflexible positions” and resume the proper functioning of disarmament machinery, delegates sought common ground on nuclear disarmament as the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) concluded its thematic debate segment and began action on draft texts.

At a crossroads on how to overcome the long‑standing impasse in the Conference on Disarmament, speakers in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today discussed ways to revitalize the disarmament machinery and maintain its relevance as a deliberative institution for global arms control.

Regional efforts must advance common disarmament priorities and address global security challenges, said speakers in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today as they highlighted the importance of cooperation and confidence‑building in an increasingly unstable world.

States must join forces to combat the rising threat of non-State actors maliciously using information and communications technology to destabilize socioeconomic development, delegates told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today as they discussed ways to prevent cyberattacks.

Burgeoning military expenditures were among an array of worrying trends, delegates told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today, as they highlighted the development challenges confronting Member States even as they sought to curb the global proliferation of conventional weapons.

Stemming the steady flow of conventional arms into vulnerable regions required proper export controls and improvements in the implementation of existing instruments, delegates told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) today during a debate on the issue.

Amid fears of an arms race in outer space, coupled with the transformation of that domain into a zone of conflict, several speakers in the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) warned today against its misuse, with some calling for new laws and mechanisms to hold perpetrators accountable.

Reflecting a deep chasm in disarmament and arms control discussions, delegates from nuclear-weapon States today defended deterrence policies while their counterparts from nations free of atomic bombs questioned slow progress in dismantling arsenals, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) heard as it concluded its debate on nuclear weapons and took up its agenda item on other weapons of mass destruction.