Cessation of Nuclear-Weapon tests

The question of the cessation of nuclear-weapon tests independent of agreement on other disarmament measures was considered by the General Assembly as early as 1954, during its ninth session. After the establishment of the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament in 1962, and as a result of negotiations in that body and elsewhere, the USSR, the United Kingdom and the United States signed, on 5 August 1963, the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and under Water. That Treaty, known as the partial test-ban Treaty, which entered into force on 10 October 1963, did not cover underground tests. Consequently, the General Assembly in 1963, by its resolution 1910 (XVIII), called upon all States to become parties to the Treaty and requested the CCD to continue negotiations to achieve a comprehensive test ban. Since that time, the Assembly has repeatedly called for suspension of all nuclear-weapon tests and for continued work on a comprehensive test-ban treaty.

Related Subject(s): Disarmament