The U.N. General Assembly voted by an overwhelming margin yesterday to adopt a resolution calling for the global elimination of nuclear weapons, the Japanese Foreign Ministry announced (see GSN, Oct. 30).
The United States and 170 other nations backed the resolution, which was introduced by Japan. India and North Korea voted against the measure, while Bhutan, China, Cuba, France, Iran, Israel, Myanmar and Pakistan abstained (Japanese Foreign Ministry release, Dec. 3).
"It is gratifying," Japanese Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirofumi Hirano said, calling the document's passage a "great step forward," according to Kyodo News (Kyodo News/Breitbart.com, Dec. 3).
U.S. President Barack Obama should intervene in the formulation of a U.S. nuclear weapons policy assessment to ensure that the document adequately supports the eventual elimination of nuclear armaments, 26 U.S. lawmakers wrote in a letter to the president (see GSN, Oct. 26).
"The drafting of the [Nuclear Posture Review] is an ideal opportunity to advance progress toward a nuclear weapons-free world, as the conclusions in the report will guide U.S. nuclear weapons policy for the next five to 10 years," states the missive, signed by Representative Pete Stark (D-Calif.) and other House members, all Democrats.
The posture review report should avoid calling for the development of new U.S. nuclear weapons, advocate the removal of U.S. nuclear weapons from "hair-trigger" alert status, call for deeper arsenal cuts and narrow the role of the nation's arsenal to deterring nuclear attacks, the letter argues (U.S. Representative Pete Stark release, Dec. 3).