UN committee advances 24 texts on nuclear disarmament and weapons issues

The UN General Assembly’s First Committee approved 20 draft resolutions and four decisions on nuclear disarmament and other nuclear-weapons issues on Tuesday, including texts on nuclear testing, weapons-free zones and the potential risks of artificial intelligence in nuclear command systems.

The committee’s approval advances the proposals for consideration by the General Assembly; it does not itself make them binding. The UN’s meeting coverage said the decisions and resolutions covered a wide range of issues, with support levels varying sharply between votes.

A draft on preparations for the 2026 review conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons received 178 votes in favour, none against and four abstentions. The text would note that the treaty’s parties plan to hold the first session of the conference’s Preparatory Committee in 2028, and ask the UN Secretary-General to provide assistance for the conference.

A resolution on the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty was approved by 177 votes to one, with four abstentions. It calls for signature and ratification of the treaty and urges states to refrain from nuclear explosions and maintain their moratoriums. The treaty has not entered into force.

Other measures exposed greater divisions. A draft urging nuclear-armed states to take steps towards eliminating their arsenals passed by 118 votes to 43, with 21 abstentions. A separate draft on a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East passed by 176 votes to four, with one abstention.

The committee also approved a draft decision on possible risks from integrating AI into nuclear weapons command, control and communications systems. The UN account did not give a vote tally for that decision.

The meeting’s agenda included proposals on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons, support for victims and environmental remediation, and a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. The UN describes its meeting coverage as for information media, not an official record.