Rationalization of the work of the Disarmament and International Security Committee (First Committee), G.A. res. 48/87, 48 U.N. GAOR Supp. (No. 49) at 97, U.N. Doc. A/48/49 (1993).


The General Assembly,

Recalling its resolution 47/54 G of 8 April 1993, particularly paragraph 2 thereof, in which the Chairman of the First Committee was requested to continue his consultations on the further rationalization of the work and the effective functioning of the Committee, taking into account all the views and proposals presented to the Committee, including those related to the thematic clustering of agenda items,

Recalling also the ongoing efforts of the General Assembly aimed at revitalizing its work, and recalling further its resolution 47/233 of 17 August 1993,

Mindful that the United Nations has a central role and responsibility in the sphere of disarmament and international security,

Recalling the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly, the first special session devoted to disarmament, and the objectives and priorities set out therein, as well as the progress achieved in arms control and disarmament towards these ends,

Encouraged by the changed political climate in the post-cold-war era, which is conducive to further bilateral, regional and multilateral efforts in disarmament, and aware of the consequent need to adjust the work of the United Nations, including that concerned with disarmament and international security,

Desiring to enhance the effective functioning of the disarmament machinery of the United Nations,

Conscious of the need to improve the interrelationship between disarmament and arms regulation issues and the broader international security context,

Encouraged by the efforts undertaken by the Secretary-General to strengthen the Secretariat's capabilities to enable it to discharge its tasks effectively,

1. Decides to enhance the effectiveness of the First Committee by:

(a) Addressing in a more systematic manner the issues of disarmament and related matters of international security;

(b) Streamlining its functioning and, as a first step towards that end, encouraging more detailed and focused discussion of the specific agenda items;

(c) Reviewing annually the time and resources allotted for its work;

2. Decides also, in relation to the restructuring and reorganization of the annual agenda of the First Committee, to adopt, in order to promote more detailed and focused discussions, a thematic approach whereby items presented by Member States are clustered in broad topic areas, such as:

(a) Nuclear weapons;

(b) Other weapons of mass destruction;

(c) Conventional weapons;

(d) Regional disarmament and security;

(e) Confidence-building measures, including transparency in armaments;

(f) Outer space (disarmament aspects);

(g) Disarmament machinery;

(h) Other disarmament measures;

(i) International security;

(j) Related matters of disarmament and international security;

3. Requests the Chairman of the First Committee to continue consultations on the further rationalization of the work of the Committee in terms of improving its effective functioning, taking into account relevant resolutions adopted by the Committee, as well as views and proposals presented to it on this issue;

4. Urges the Secretary-General to provide the appropriate means and adequate resources to the Office for Disarmament Affairs of the Secretariat in order to ensure that it can carry out its mandated tasks, in particular those relating to deliberation and negotiation, taking into account existing resource constraints, and to report thereon to the General Assembly at its forty-ninth session;

5. Decides to review the question of further rationalization and improvement of the work of the First Committee at its forty-ninth session.

81st plenary meeting
16 December 1993


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