The Charter of the UN includes a provision for
disarmament. The General Assembly and the Security Council both
have the responsibility to plan for disarmament. The UN advocates
disarmament for two specific reasons:
Since its conception the UN has taken several steps
for disarmament, which are listed as follows:
|
Year
|
Commission established/ Treaty signed
|
The Commission/ Treaty Agenda
|
|
1946
|
The Atomic Energy Commission
|
To ensure that atomic energy be used for
|
|
1947
|
The Commission for Conventional Armaments
|
To regulate and reduce through international inspection the
production and use of armaments
|
|
1952
|
The UN Disarmament Commission. It replaced the earlier two
commissions.
|
To ensure the balanced reduction of world wide arms
|
|
1959
|
Discussion on General and Complete Disarmament
|
To work for disarmament
|
|
1963
|
The Limited Test Ban Treaty between the US, the USSR and
Britain with 105 other signatories
|
Ban on nuclear weapons tests in the atmosphere, in outer
space and under water
|
|
1967
|
The Outer Space Treaty
|
Prohibition on the stationing of nuclear arms in space
|
|
1968
|
The Non-Proliferation Treaty between the US, the USSR and
Britain and 87 other signatories
|
To limit the spread of nuclear weapons and promote disarmament
|
|
1972
|
The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (Phase I) between the
US and USSR
|
To lessen the danger of nuclear destruction
|
|
1979
|
The Strategic Arms Limitation Treaty (Phase II) between the
US and USSR
|
To impose restrictions on the nuclear arms race
|
|
1990
|
Treaty at Paris signed by the NATO and Warsaw Pact countries
|
To reduce arms
|
|
1991
|
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Phase I) between the
US and USSR
|
To reduce their nuclear arsenals by about 30%
|
|
1993
|
The Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (Phase II) between the
US and USSR
|
To limit their nuclear stockpiles to what they were in the
1960s and 1970s
|
