India, Pakistan vote against UN resolution on NPT
December 3, 2014, 10:22 am

The General Assembly met to consider reports of its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) on 2 December 2014 [Image: UN]

The US, Pakistan and Israel sided with India and voted against the resolution on Tuesday while China abstained.

A draft resolution on achieving a nuclear weapon-free world was adopted in the UN General Assembly session on Tuesday by a recorded vote of 169 in favour to 7 against with 5 countries abstaining.

India’s neighbour Pakistan supported India’s opposition to the clause as both countries have not yet signed the nuclear non-proliferation treaty.

A separate vote was taken on operative paragraph 9, which stressed the fundamental role of the NPT (non-proliferation treaty) in achieving nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and urged India, Israel and Pakistan to accede to it as non-nuclear-weapon States promptly and without conditions and to place all their nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.

The provision was retained by a recorded vote of 165 in favour with India, Israel, Pakistan, the US voting against and Bhutan, France, the UK abstaining.

The NPT is considered a cornerstone of global nuclear disarmament efforts.

India, Israel and the US also voted against the preambular paragraph 24, which emphasised the importance of a successful 2015 NPT Review Conference.??The provision was retained by a vote of 166 in favour and three abstentions from France, Pakistan and the UK.

The Assembly also retained operative paragraph 11, which urged all States to work together to overcome obstacles within the international disarmament machinery and immediately implement the three specific recommendations from the 2010 Review Conference Action Plan, by a recorded vote of 167 in favour to 3 against and 4 abstentions including India.

The UN general Assembly also took up the draft resolution, ‘Towards a nuclear weapon-free world: accelerating the implementation of nuclear disarmament commitments’ and adopted by a recorded vote of 169 in favour with India along with Israel, the UK, the US voting against the resolution.

India is a non-signatory to the NPT, a 189-nation treaty set up four decades ago to prevent states from acquiring nuclear weapons.

United States sealed a nuclear supply deal with India in 2008 despite Delhi staying outside the NPT.

TBP and Agencies