Nuclear Weapons Illegal!

International Court of Justice Advisory Opinion on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons

Adopted by a vote of 115-22, with 32 abstentions

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International Court of Justice advisory opinion on the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons
(Submitted on October 29, 1996)

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 49/75 K requesting the International Court of Justice for an advisory opinion on whether the threat or use of nuclear weapons is permitted in any circumstance under international law;

Mindful of the solemn obligations of States, undertaken in Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, particularly to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament;

Recalling resolution 50/70 P of 12 December 1995, in which it called upon the Conference on Disarmament to establish an ad hoc committee on nuclear disarmament to commence negotiations on a phased programme of nuclear disarmament and for the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons within a time-bound framework;

Recalling also the Principles and Objectives for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament adopted at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and in particular the objective of determined pursuit by the nuclear-weapon States of systematic and progressive efforts to reduce nuclear weapons globally with the ultimate goal of eliminating those weapons;

Recognizing that the only defence against a nuclear catastrophe is the total elimination of nuclear weapons and the certainty that they will never be produced again;

Desiring to achieve the objective of a legally binding prohibition of the development, production, testing, deployment, stockpiling, threat or use of nuclear weapons and their destruction under effective international control;

Reaffirming the commitment of the international community to the goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons and welcoming every effort towards this end;

Reaffirming the central role of the Conference on Disarmament as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum;

Noting the adoption of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty by the General Assembly in its resolution 50/245 on 10 September 1996;

Regretting the absence of multilaterally negotiated and legally binding security assurances against the threat or use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon states;

Convinced that the continuing existence of nuclear weapons poses a threat to all humanity and that their use would have catastrophic consequences for all life on Earth;

1. Expresses its appreciation to the International Court of Justice for responding to the request made by the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session;

2. Takes note of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, issued on 8 July 1996;

3. Underlines the unanimous conclusion of the Court that there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control;

4. Calls upon all States to fulfill that obligation immediately by commencing multilateral negotiations in 1997 leading to an early conclusion of a nuclear weapons convention prohibiting the development, production, testing, deployment, stockpiling, transfer, threat or use of nuclear weapons and providing for their elimination;

5. Requests the Secretary-General to provide the necessary assistance to support the implementation of the present resolution;

6. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-second session an item entitled "Follow up to the Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons".