[Marxism] UN First Committee Passes DU Resolution in Landslide Vote

[Sukla Sen <suklasenp@xxxxxxxxxxx>]

http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/144.html

UN First Committee Passes DU Resolution in Landslide
Vote
Late last night the UN First Committee passed, by an
overwhelming majority, a resolution highlighting
concerns over the military use of uranium.
1 November 2007 - ICBUW 
The resolution entitled 'Effects of the use of
armaments and ammunitions containing depleted uranium'
was passed by 122 votes to six at the UN First
Committee in New York; with 35 abstentions. The
resolution urges UN member states to re-examine the
health hazards posed by the use of uranium weapons. 


The resolution was drafted by the Movement of Non
Aligned States and submitted by Indonesia. It requests
that states and international bodies submit a report
on DU to the UN General Assembly during next year's
session; depleted uranium weapons will also feature on
the Assembly's agenda. A second vote confirming the
resolution will take place early next year. 


?This is a good result for our campaign,? said ICBUW
Coordinator Doug Weir. ?States around the world are no
longer content to accept the claims by the users of
these weapon systems that exposure to uranium dust is
not linked to ill health. The last few years have seen
great advances in our understanding of the health
hazards posed by depleted uranium and it's high time
that the international standards caught up with this
research.? 


The vote comes after a year of intense campaigning by
ICBUW and its member organisations, and follows calls
by the European Parliament for a ban. In March this
year, Belgium became the first country in the world to
introduce a domestic ban on the use of uranium in all
conventional weapon systems. The decision by Brussels
to take this step sent a clear message to all NATO
members and users of uranium weapons that the
continued use of chemically toxic and radioactive
weapon systems is incompatible with international
humanitarian legal standards. 


How the voting went: 
For: 122 countries (including Japan) 
Against: 6 countries (US, UK, France, Netherlands,
Czech Republic, Israel) 
Abstentions: 35 countries 


'Effects of the use of armaments and ammunitions
containing depleted uranium' A/C.1/62/L.18/Rev.1 

Full text (select your language of choice): 
http://www.un.org/Docs/journal/asp/ws.asp?m=A/C.1/62/L.18/rev.1




Full list of voters: 

Vote on Use of Depleted Uranium in Armaments 


The draft resolution on the effects of the use of
armaments and 
ammunition containing depleted uranium (document
A/C.1/62/L.18/Rev.1) 
was approved by a recorded vote of 122 in favour to 6
against, with 35 
abstentions, as follows: 


In favour: Afghanistan, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and
Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan,
Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus,
Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil,
Brunei 
Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cameroon, Chile,
Colombia, Comoros, 
Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d?Ivoire, Cuba, Cyprus,
Democratic People?s 
Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Dominican Republic,
Ecuador, Egypt, El 
Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Germany, Ghana,
Guatemala, Guinea, 
Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq,
Ireland, Italy, 
Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lao People?s
Democratic Republic, 
Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein,
Madagascar, Malawi, 
Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Marshall Islands,
Mauritania, Mauritius, 
Mexico, Mongolia, Montenegro, Morocco, Mozambique,
Myanmar, Namibia, 
Nauru, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria,
Oman, Pakistan, 
Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines,
Qatar, Saint 
Lucia, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal,
Sierra Leone, 
Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka,
Sudan, Suriname, 
Swaziland, Switzerland, Syria, Thailand, Timor-Leste,
Togo, Tunisia, 
Turkmenistan, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of
Tanzania, 
Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen,
Zambia, Zimbabwe. 


Against: Czech Republic, France, Israel, Netherlands,
United Kingdom, United States. 


Abstain: Albania, Andorra, Australia, Belgium,
Bulgaria, Cambodia, 
Canada, Croatia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Georgia,
Greece, Hungary, 
Iceland, Kazakhstan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg,
Malta, Moldova, 
Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania,
Russian 
Federation, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden,
The former 
Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine. 


Absent: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cape Verde, Central
African Republic, Chad, China, Democratic Republic of
the Congo, Dominica, Equatorial 
Guinea, Fiji, Gambia, Grenada, Guinea-Bissau,
Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan, 
Micronesia (Federated States of), Monaco, Palau,
Rwanda, Saint Kitts and 
Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Sao Tome and
Principe, 
Seychelles, Somalia, Tajikistan, Tonga, Trinidad and
Tobago, Tuvalu, 
Uganda, Vanuatu. 



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