General Assembly Distr.: Limited

9 October 2002

Original: English

First Committee

Agenda item 68 (c)

Review of the implementation of the recommendations and decisions adopted by the General Assembly at its tenth special session: Report of the Disarmament Commission

Argentina, Belarus, Czech Republic, Ghana, Italy, Kazakhstan, Morocco and Nepal: draft resolution

The General Assembly,

Having considered the report of the Disarmament Commission, Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-fifth Session, Supplement No. 42 (A/55/42).

Recalling its resolutions 47/54 A of 9 December 1992, 47/54 G of 8 April 1993, 48/77 A of 16 December 1993, 49/77 A of 15 December 1994, 50/72 D of 12 December 1995, 51/47 B of 10 December 1996, 52/40 B of 9 December 1997,

53/79 A of 4 December 1998, 54/56 A of 1 December 1999, 55/35 C of 20 November 2000 and 56/26 A of 29 November 2001,

Considering the role that the Disarmament Commission has been called upon to play and the contribution that it should make in examining and submitting recommendations on various problems in the field of disarmament and in the promotion of the implementation of the relevant decisions adopted by the General Assembly at its tenth special session,

Bearing in mind decision 52/492 of 8 September 1998,

1.        Takes note of the report of the Disarmament Commission;

2.        Reaffirms the importance of further enhancing the dialogue and cooperation among the First Committee, the Disarmament Commission and the Conference on Disarmament;

3.        Also reaffirms the role of the Disarmament Commission as the specialized, deliberative body within the United Nations multilateral disarmament machinery that allows for in-depth deliberations on specific disarmament issues, leading to the submission of concrete recommendations on those issues;

4.       Requests the Disarmament Commission to continue its work in accordance with its mandate, as set forth in paragraph 118 of the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly, Resolution S-10/2. and with paragraph 3 of Assembly resolution 37/78 H of 9 December 1982, and to that end to make every effort to achieve specific recommendations on the items of its agenda, taking into account the adopted document, entitled "Ways and means to enhance the functioning of the Disarmament Commission";                

5.        Recommends that the Disarmament Commission continue the consideration of the following items at its 2003 substantive session:

        (a)        Ways and means to achieve nuclear disarmament;

        (b)        Practical confidence-building measures in the field of conventional arms;

6.        Requests the Disarmament Commission to meet for a period not exceeding three weeks during 2003, namely 31 March to 17 April and to submit a substantive report to the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session;

7.        Requests the Secretary-General to transmit to the Disarmament Commission the annual report of the Conference on Disarmament, Official Records of the General Assembly, Fifty-fourth Session, Supplement No. 27 (A/54/27). Together with all the official records of the fifty-seventh session of the General Assembly relating to disarmament matters, and to render all assistance that the Commission may require for implementing the present resolution;

8.        Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure full provision to the Disarmament Commission and its subsidiary bodies of interpretation and translation facilities in the official languages and to assign, as a matter of priority, all the necessary resources and services, including verbatim records, to that end;

9.        Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-eighth session the item entitled "Report of the Disarmament Commission".