October 21, 2002, UN General Assembly First Committee, 57th Session
[Informal Translation]
Explanation of vote: Belgium, in the name of Belgium, Luxembourg and Netherlands
On resolution L.53 Follow-up to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons.
Mr. President,
I have the honor to take the floor on behalf of Belgium, Luxembourg and the Netherlands, as well as Germany, Bulgaria, Denmark, Spain, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Norway, Poland and Portugal, which all associate themselves with this explanation of vote, on the subject of the resolution L.53 Follow-up to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons.
Mr. President,
We hold that the unanimous conclusion of the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice that an obligation exists to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects, under strict and efficient international control. This is the reason why we have voted in favor of the first operative paragraph of the draft resolution.
While sharing the opinion that the final objective of nuclear disarmament is the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, we cannot support the entire draft resolution. We regret that this draft resolution only cites one element of the advisory opinion of the International Court. The advisory opinion is indivisible, and should be considered in its entirety.
In addition, we are firmly convinced that nuclear disarmament can only be realized through a gradual process. At the 6th Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the states parties agreed on a series of practical measures to this effect. The international community should concentrate on their implementation.
