United Nations General Assembly Resolution A/69/79

by the United Nations

United Nations

A/RES/69/79

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General Assembly

Distr.: General 11 December 2014

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Sixty-ninth session
Agenda item 100

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 2 December 2014

[on the report of the First Committee (A/69/444)]

69/79. Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects

The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 68/66 of 5 December 2013,

Recalling with satisfaction the adoption and entry into force of the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects^[1] and its amended article 1,^[2] the Protocol on Non-Detectable Fragments (Protocol I), the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby Traps and Other Devices (Protocol II) and its amended version,^[3] the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Incendiary Weapons (Protocol III), the Protocol on Blinding Laser Weapons (Protocol IV)^[4] and the Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War (Protocol V),^[5]

Noting the results of the 2013 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention, held in Geneva on 14 and 15 November 2013,

Welcoming the results of the Fifteenth Annual Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Amended Protocol II, held in Geneva on 13 November 2013,

Welcoming also the results of the Seventh Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V, held in Geneva on 11 and 12 November 2013,

Recalling the role played by the International Committee of the Red Cross in the elaboration of the Convention and the Protocols thereto, and welcoming the particular efforts of various international, non-governmental and other organizations in raising awareness of the humanitarian consequences of various categories of conventional weapons which may be deemed to be excessively injurious or to have indiscriminate effects,

1. Calls upon all States that have not yet done so to take all measures to become parties, as soon as possible, to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects1 and the Protocols thereto, as amended, with a view to achieving the widest possible adherence to these instruments at an early date and so as to ultimately achieve their universality;

2. Calls upon all States parties to the Convention that have not yet done so to express their consent to be bound by the Protocols to the Convention and the amendment extending the scope of the Convention and the Protocols thereto to include armed conflicts of a non-international character;

3. Emphasizes the importance of the universalization of the Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War (Protocol V);

4. Welcomes the additional ratifications and acceptances of or accessions to the Convention, as well as the consents to be bound by the Protocols thereto;

5. Acknowledges the continued efforts of the Secretary-General, as depositary of the Convention and the Protocols thereto, the Chair of the Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention, the President of the Seventh Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Protocol V and the President of the Fifteenth Annual Conference of the High Contracting Parties to Amended Protocol II, on behalf of the High Contracting Parties, to achieve the goal of universality;

6. Recalls the following decisions by the Fourth Review Conference of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention:

(a) The adoption of an accelerated plan of action to promote universality of the Convention and the Protocols thereto;

(b) The adoption of actions to enhance the implementation of the compliance mechanism for the Convention and the Protocols thereto;

(c) The continuation of the Sponsorship Programme within the framework of the Convention;

and, with recognition of the value and importance of the Sponsorship Programme, encourages States to contribute to it;

7. Welcomes the commitment by States parties to continue to contribute to the further development of international humanitarian law and in this context to keep under review both the development of new weapons and uses of weapons, which may have indiscriminate effects or cause unnecessary suffering;

8. Notes with satisfaction the decision of the 2013 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention to convene in 2014 a four-day informal meeting of experts to discuss the questions related to emerging technologies in the area of lethal autonomous weapons systems, and welcomes the informal discussions held from 13 to 16 May 2014 in that regard;

9. Welcomes the commitment of States parties to Protocol V to the effective and efficient implementation of the Protocol and the implementation of the decisions of the First and Second Conferences of the High Contracting Parties to the Protocol establishing a comprehensive framework for the exchange of information and cooperation;

10. Notes that, in conformity with article 8 of the Convention, conferences may be convened to examine amendments to the Convention or to any of the Protocols thereto, to examine additional protocols concerning other categories of conventional weapons not covered by existing Protocols or to review the scope and application of the Convention and the Protocols thereto and to examine any proposed amendments or additional protocols;

11. Acknowledges the work of the Implementation Support Unit within the Geneva Branch of the Office for Disarmament Affairs of the Secretariat, which was established following a decision by the 2009 Meeting of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention;

12. Requests the Secretary-General to render the assistance necessary and to provide such services as may be required for annual conferences and expert meetings of the High Contracting Parties to the Convention and of the High Contracting Parties to Amended Protocol II and Protocol V, as well as for any continuation of the work after the meetings;

13. Also requests the Secretary-General, in his capacity as depositary of the Convention and the Protocols thereto, to continue to inform the General Assembly periodically, by electronic means, of ratifications and acceptances of and accessions to the Convention, its amended article 1 and the Protocols;

14. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventieth session the item entitled “Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects”.

62nd plenary meeting
2 December 2014

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1. United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1342, No. 22495.
2. Ibid., vol. 2260, No. 22495.
3. Ibid., vol. 2048, No. 22495.
4. Ibid., vol. 2024, No. 22495.
5. Ibid., vol. 2399, No. 22495.