The U.N. General Assembly adopted by a majority vote a Japan-led resolution calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons, with support from 152 countries including the United States and Britain, at its plenary meeting Monday.
This is the 31st consecutive year for the assembly to adopt such a resolution. The latest one referred to the selection of the Japanese atomic bomb survivors group Nihon Hidankyo as winner of this year's Nobel Peace Prize.
The resolution urged all countries "to make every effort to ensure that nuclear weapons are never used again."
It called for the promotion of interactions with atomic bomb survivors, or hibakusha, saying that learning the realities of the use of nuclear weapons through "long-standing grass-roots (storytelling) efforts around the world, including those of Nihon Hidankyo, recognized with the Nobel Peace Prize 2024," will lead to a nuclear-free world.
China, North Korea, Iran, Nicaragua, Russia and Syria voted against the resolution, and 28 countries including France, India and Israel abstained from voting.
Also on Monday, the General Assembly adopted by a majority vote a resolution calling for countries not to deploy nuclear and weapons of mass destruction in space, which was jointly submitted by nations including Japan and the United States, with 167 countries voting in favor. Russia, North Korea, Iran and Syria voted against it.
The two resolutions were adopted in November by the U.N. General Assembly's committee on disarmament with the support of 145 countries and 160 countries, respectively, before being sent to the plenary meeting.
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