Preparatory work for the special session

Abstract

The proposal for holding a special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament dates back to the First Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Belgrade in 1961. That Conference, in its declaration, recommended that the General Assembly should adopt a decision on convening either a special session or a world disarmament conference with a view to setting in motion the process of general disarmament. The proposal was reiterated on numerous subsequent occasions, including the Fifth Conference of Heads of State or Government of Non-Aligned Countries, held at Colombo in 1976, which, in its Political Declaration, recommended that the non-aligned countries, pending the convening of a world disarmament conference, should request the convening of a special session of the General Assembly. Subsequently, at the initiative of the non-aligned countries, with widespread support from other Member States, the General Assembly at its thirty-first session on 21 December 1976 adopted without a vote resolution 31/189 B, which provided for the holding of a special session devoted to disarmament in May/June 1978. The resolution also established a Preparatory Committee for the Special Session of the General Assembly Devoted to Disarmament consisting of 54 Member States, and invited all Member States to communicate to the Secretary-General their views on the questions relating to the special session.