United Nations: India voted against a resolution by Pakistan on ‘Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels’. The resolution by Pakistan and Syria on ‘Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels’ in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly was adopted by recorded vote with 179 members voting in favour, an abstention by Israel while India was the sole country voting against the resolution.

The First Committee of the UNGA deals with disarmament, global challenges and threats to peace that affect the international community. The resolution recognises the “crucial role of conventional arms control in promoting regional and international peace and security.”

“Convinced that conventional arms control needs to be pursued primarily in the regional and subregional contexts since most threats to peace and security in the post-cold-war era arise mainly among states located in the same region or subregion,” the resolution said.

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It notes “with particular interest the initiatives taken in this regard in different regions of the world, in particular the consultations among a number of Latin American countries and the proposals for conventional arms control made in the context of South Asia, and recognising, in the context of this subject, the relevance and value of conventional arms control in regional security.”

The resolution, “believing that militarily significant states and states with larger military capabilities have a special responsibility in promoting such agreements for regional security,” decided to give “urgent consideration to the issues involved in conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels.

(With inputs from agency)