Sunday, October 30, 2016

Vote on nuclear weapons at the UN: compare North Korea with the US and Israel vote

" On 27 October at the UN General Assembly’s First Committee, which deals with disarmament and international security matters, 123 nations voted in favour of the resolution, with 38 against and 16 abstaining. Among those voting against were four of the five the Permanent Five (P5) members of the UN Security Council – France, Russia, USA and the UK – with China abstaining; all of the P5 possess nuclear weapons. ...

Voting result on the UN resolution L.41 - October 27, 2016 

The 38 against - Albania, Andorra, Australia, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, FRANCE, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, ISRAEL, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Micronesia, Monaco, Montenegro, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea (South), Romania, RUSSIA, 
Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Turkey, UNITED KINGDOM, UNITED STATES.

The 16 abstains - Armenia, Belarus, CHINA, Finland, Guyana, INDIA, Kyrgyzstan, Mali, Morocco, Netherlands, Nicaragua, PAKISTAN, Sudan, Switzerland, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu.

DPRK (North Korea) voted YES.

UN: Landmark vote on nuclear weapons is a win for common sense and 
humanity - 28 October 2016 
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Following the UN General Assembly’s vote to adopt a landmark resolution to launch negotiations in 2017 on a treaty outlawing nuclear weapons, Patrick Wilcken, Researcher on Arms Control, Security, Trade and Human Rights at Amnesty International, said: “This historic decision is a vote for common sense and humanity. It brings us a step closer to a world free from the horrors of nuclear weapons, the most destructive and indiscriminate weapons ever created. This vote shows that a majority of states consider a global prohibition on nuclear weapons to be the best option for protecting the world from their catastrophic effects."

... “We are opposed to the use, possession, production and transfer of nuclear weapons by any country, including permanent members of the UN Security Council, and so it was deeply disappointing to see that these, and other nuclear-armed states, voted against the resolution or abstained. We are calling on them to take a stand for human rights by participating fully in the coming negotiations.” ." (thanks Eyal)