DYB2011-Part-II-web

Disarmament resolutions and decisions listed by chapter
must face. Cuba reiterated its proposal to establish a United Nations fund that would
receive at least half of the amount of military expenditure and spend it for economic,
social and development needs of the countries that required it.
Before the action on the draft resolution, the United States announced that it
would not participate in the Committee’s action. It believed that disarmament and
development were two distinct issues and it did not consider itself bound by the Final
Document of the International Conference on the Relationship between Disarmament
and Development, adopted in 1987.
After the adoption of the draft resolution, France spoke, also on behalf of the
United Kingdom. Both States, which joined the consensus on this draft resolution,
clarified that the notion of a symbiotic relationship between disarmament and
development was questionable, insofar as the conditions favourable to disarmament
did not necessarily depend solely on development. There was no automatic link
between the two. The idea that military expenditures deter the needs of development
and its financial requirements ought to be refined. Investments in defence capabilities
were also necessary for peacekeeping and to improve rapid response in case of natural
disasters. It stated that the report of the Group of Governmental Experts did not
give sufficient importance to unilateral, bilateral and multilateral actions in the field
of disarmament.
66/31. Observance of environmental norms in the drafting and
implementation of agreements on disarmament and arms
control
In this annual resolution, the General
Assembly once again called upon States to adopt
unilateral, bilateral, regional and multilateral
measures to contribute to ensuring the application
of scientific and technological progress within the
framework of international security, disarmament
and other related spheres, without detriment to
the environment or to its effective contribution
to attaining sustainable development. It also
invited all Member States to communicate to the
Introduced by: Indonesia, on behalf of
the States Members of the United Nations
that are members of the Movement of
Non-Aligned Countries (20 Oct.)
GA vote: w/o vote (2 Dec.)
1st Cttee vote: w/o vote (27 Oct.)
For text and sponsors, see Yearbook,
Part I, pp. 45-46.
Secretary-General the measures they had adopted, and requested the Secretary-General
to submit a report containing that information to the Assembly’s sixty-seventh session.
First Committee. In a general statement, Cuba stated that it aligned itself with
the Non-Aligned Movement, which introduced the draft resolution. It believed that
international disarmament forums should take into account environmental norms when
negotiating treaties and arrangements in the areas of disarmament and arms control, as
reflected in the draft resolution.
Before the draft resolution was adopted, the United States explained that it
would not participate in the Committee’s action on the draft resolution. It noted that
the United States operated under stringent domestic environmental impact regulations
for many activities, including the implementation of arms control and disarmament
agreements. However, it did not see a direct connection between general environmental
standards and multilateral arms control, as stated in the draft resolution.
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