"Proposal on Essential Measures for an Immediate Halt to the Arms Race and for Disarmament" 21 June 1982

"Proposal on Essential Measures for
an Immediate Halt to the Arms Race and for Disarmament"
Submitted by the Chinese Delegation at the Second Special Session of
the UN General Assembly on Disarmament

21 June 1982

The Chinese Delegation proposes that the following principles be immediately adopted to prohibit nuclear weapons and rationally reduce nuclear and conventional armaments so as to lessen the danger of war and maintain world peace.

1. Efforts for disarmament cannot be separated from the maintenance of international security. They should be integrated with efforts for maintaining world peace and security.

2. States possessing the largest arsenals should take the lead in reducing their armaments.

3. The reduction of conventional armaments should be carried out in conjunction with that of nuclear armaments so as to help lessen the danger of war.

4. Disarmament measures should be carried out without prejudice or threat to the independence, sovereignty and security of any state.

5. Disarmament agreements should provide for strict and effective measures of international verification.

6. All states are entitled to participate on an equal footing in the deliberations, negotiations and settlement of disarmament issues.

As for measures to implement these principles, China proposes:

1. All nuclear states should reach an agreement on the non-use of nuclear weapons. Pending this, the nuclear states should each undertake unconditionally not to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon states or nuclear-weapon states or nuclear weapon-free zones and not to be the first to use nuclear weapons against each other at any time or under any circumstances.

2. The Soviet Union and the United States should cease all nuclear tests, stop the qualitative improvement and manufacture of any kind of nuclear weapons and reduce by 50 per cent their existing nuclear arsenals, including all types of inter-continental, medium-range and other tactical nuclear weapons as well as their means of delivery. Thereafter, all nuclear states should undertake to cease all nuclear tests, stop the qualitative improvement and manufacture of nuclear weapons and reduce their respectipve nuclear weapons and means of delivery according to a reasonable proportion and procedure to be agreed upon.

3. All states should solemnly undertake not to use conventional forces to commit armed intervention or aggression against or military occupation of any other state. As a first step towards conventional disarmament, all foreign occupation troops must be withdrawn without delay. In the meantime, the Soviet Union and the United States should proceed to substantially reduce their heavy and new-type conventional weapons and equipment, especially those for offensive purposes. After this, the other militarily significant states should join them in reducing their conventional armaments according to a reasonable proportion and procedure to be agreed upon.

4. Chemical weapons and other weapons of mass destruction should be prohibited.

As for verification, China proposes that a verification group be established which includes representatives from all nuclear and non-nuclear-weapon states, for the purpose of carrying out effective verification of the implementation of disarmament measures.

The international verification group should submit reports to the UN General Assembly annually and whenever necessary.

As for negotiation, China proposes that all nuclear and non-nuclear-weapon states are entitled to take part -- on an equal footing -- in examining and approving all measures for halting the arms race and for disarmament.

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by MIIS.