A
 
           Expansion of the membership of the Conference on Disarmament
 
      The General Assembly,
 
      Having considered the report of the Conference on Disarmament and in
particular the section concerning the expansion of the membership of the
Conference,
 
      Stressing the role of the Conference on Disarmament as the sole
multilateral global negotiating body on disarmament,
 
      Convinced that a more representative membership of the Conference on
Disarmament from among the United Nations would contribute to the more
effective pursuit of disarmament goals affecting the entire international
community,
 
      Recalling that, since 1978, when agreement was reached at the first
special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament that the
membership of the then Committee on Disarmament would be reviewed at regular
intervals, there have been thirty-seven applications for membership in the
Conference,
 
      Recalling also that, in 1993, the Special Coordinator for Membership of
the Conference on Disarmament proposed that twenty-three applicants for
membership should be admitted to the Conference and proposed further that a
dynamic solution to the question of membership should be pursued,
 
      Recalling further decision CD/1406 of the Conference on Disarmament,
adopted at its 739th plenary meeting on 17 June 1996, admitting twenty-three
countries as members of the Conference,
 
      Recalling its resolution 50/72 C of 12 December 1995, adopted without a
vote, in which it urged that, following the presentation of progress reports
by the President of the Conference, the other applicants to date be further
considered by the Conference at its 1996 session,
 
      Noting the request of the Conference on Disarmament that its President
continue consultations on a further expansion of its membership and report to
it at the beginning of its 1997 session,
 
      1.    Recognizes the legitimate aspirations of all countries that have
applied for membership to participate fully in the work of the Conference on
Disarmament;
 
      2.    Calls upon the Conference on Disarmament to consider all remaining
applications for membership with a view to reaching a decision on its further
enlargement before the end of its 1997 session.
 
 
                                         B
 
                       Report of the Disarmament Commission
 
      The General Assembly,
 
      Having considered the report of the Disarmament Commission,
 
      Recalling its resolutions 47/54 A of 9 December 1992, 47/54 G of 8 April
1993, 48/77 A of 16 December 1993, 49/77 A of 15 December 1994 and 50/72 D of
12 December 1995,
 
      Considering the role that the Disarmament Commission has been called
upon to play and the contribution that it should make in examining and
submitting recommendations on various problems in the field of disarmament and
in the promotion of the implementation of the relevant decisions adopted by
the General Assembly at its tenth special session,
 
      1.    Takes note of the report of the Disarmament Commission;
 
      2.    Commends the Disarmament Commission for its adoption by consensus,
at its 1996 substantive session, of a set of guidelines for international arms
transfers in the context of General Assembly resolution 46/36 H of 6 December
1991, which were recommended to the Assembly for consideration;
 
      3.    Endorses the guidelines for international arms transfers in the
context of General Assembly resolution 46/36 H of 6 December 1991, as adopted
by the Disarmament Commission;
 
      4.    Notes with satisfaction that the Disarmament Commission has made
significant progress in the discussions on its agenda item regarding the
convening of the fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to
disarmament;
 
      5.    Reaffirms the importance of further enhancing the dialogue and
cooperation among the First Committee, the Disarmament Commission and the
Conference on Disarmament;
 
      6.    Also reaffirms the role of the Disarmament Commission as the
specialized, deliberative body within the United Nations multilateral
disarmament machinery that allows for in-depth deliberations on specific
disarmament issues, leading to the submission of concrete recommendations on
those issues;
 
      7.    Encourages the Disarmament Commission to continue to make every
effort to enhance its working methods so as to enable it to give focused
consideration to a limited number of priority issues in the field of
disarmament, bearing in mind the decision it has taken to move its agenda
towards a three-item phased approach;
 
      8.    Requests the Disarmament Commission to continue its work in
accordance with its mandate, as set forth in paragraph 118 of the Final
Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly, and with
paragraph 3 of Assembly resolution 37/78 H of 9 December 1982, and to that end
to make every effort to achieve specific recommendations on the items of its
agenda, taking into account the adopted "Ways and means to enhance the
functioning of the Disarmament Commission";
 
      9.    Recommends that, pursuant to the adopted three-item phased
approach, the Disarmament Commission, at its 1996 organizational session,
adopt the following items for consideration at its 1997 substantive session:
 
      (a)   The establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones on the basis of
arrangements freely arrived at among the States of the region concerned;
 
      (b)   The fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to
disarmament;
 
      (c)   ;
 
      10.   Requests the Disarmament Commission to meet for a period not
exceeding four weeks during 1997 and to submit a substantive report to the
General Assembly at its fifty-second session;
 
      11.   Requests the Secretary-General to transmit to the Disarmament
Commission the annual report of the Conference on Disarmament, together with
all the official records of the fifty-first session of the General Assembly
relating to disarmament matters, and to render all assistance that the
Commission may require for implementing the present resolution;
 
      12.   Also requests the Secretary-General to ensure full provision to
the Disarmament Commission and its subsidiary bodies of interpretation and
translation facilities in the official languages and to assign, as a matter of
priority, all the necessary resources and services, including verbatim
records, to that end;
 
      13.   Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-second
session the item entitled "Report of the Disarmament Commission".
 
 
                                         C
 
                      Report of the Conference on Disarmament
 
      The General Assembly,
 
      Having considered the report of the Conference on Disarmament,
 
      Convinced that the Conference on Disarmament, as the single multilateral
disarmament negotiating forum of the international community, has the primary
role in substantive negotiations on priority questions of disarmament,
 
      Considering, in this respect, that the present international climate
should give additional impetus to multilateral negotiations with the aim of
reaching concrete agreements,
 
      1.    Reaffirms the role of the Conference on Disarmament as the single
multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community;
 
      2.    Welcomes the determination of the Conference on Disarmament to
fulfil that role in the light of the evolving international situation, with a
view to making early substantive progress on priority items of its agenda;
 
      3.    Also welcomes the decision taken by the Conference on Disarmament
on 17 June 1996 to expand its membership with the admission of twenty-three
new members;
 
      4.    Encourages the Conference on Disarmament to continue further
review of its membership;
 
      5.    Also encourages the Conference on Disarmament to intensify further
the ongoing review of its agenda and methods of work;
 
      6.    Urges the Conference on Disarmament to make every effort to reach
a consensus on its agenda and programme of work at the beginning of its 1997
session; 
 
      7.    Requests the Secretary-General to continue to ensure the provision
to the Conference on Disarmament of adequate administrative, substantive and
conference support services;
 
      8.    Requests the Conference on Disarmament to submit a report on its
work to the General Assembly at its fifty-second session;
 
      9.    Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-second
session the item entitled "Report of the Conference on Disarmament".