The First Committee of the 54th General Assembly (GA) on November 5 adopted a resolution on the preservation of and compliance with the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty (ABM Treaty), calling for renewed efforts by each of the State parties "to preserve and strengthen the ABM Treaty through full and strict compliance."

Fifty four countries voted in favor of the draft resolution, sponsored by Russia. China and Belarus later joined Russia as co-sponsors. Four countries, including the United States and Israel, voted against, and 73 abstentions.

The resolution called for "continued efforts to strengthen the ABM Treaty and to preserve its integrity and validity so that it remains a cornerstone in maintaining global strategic stability and world peace and in promoting further strategic nuclear arms reductions."

The General Assembly called for "renewed efforts by each of the States parties to preserve and strengthen the ABM Treaty through full and strict compliance," the resolution said.

The General Assembly also called on "parties to the ABM Treaty, in accordance with their Treaty obligations, to limit the deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems and to refrain from the deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems for a defence of the territory of its country and not to provide a base for such a defence and not to transfer to other States or to deploy outside its national territory, ABM systems or their components limited by this Treaty," the resolution said.

The General Assembly considered that "the implementation of any measure undermining the purposes and the provisions of the Treaty also undermines global strategic stability and world peace and the promotion of further strategic nuclear arms reductions," said the resolution.

Meanwhile, the General Assembly "supports further efforts by the international community in the light of emerging developments with the goal of safeguarding the inviolability and integrity of the ABM Treaty in which the international community bears strong interests," the resolution said.

On May 26, 1972, the United States and then the Soviet Union signed the ABM Treaty as a cornerstone for maintaining global peace and security and strategic stability, and reaffirmed its continual validity and relevance, especially in the current international situation.

Many representatives took the floor to say that the ABM Treaty is still viable against the backdrop that the United States is developing the National Missile Defence (NMD) system in violation of the ABM Treaty. (Xinhua)