NEW YORK: The UN General Assembly voted on Monday to adopt a Japan-sponsored resolution calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons for the 27th straight year.

The resolution was backed by 150 UN members, with the United States and Britain newly becoming co-sponsors. But the number of supporters fell by 10 from the previous year.

The resolution was opposed by China, North Korea, Russia and Syria, while France and 34 others abstained from voting.

A separate resolution submitted by Australia calling on UN members that have not signed or ratified the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons to do so was also adopted Monday, with the backing from 130 members.

Japan, which has not signed the landmark treaty, voted against the resolution. The treaty is slated to go into effect in January next year.

The nuclear abolition resolution submitted by Japan last year, compared with similar Japan-sponsored resolutions in previous years, focused more on the contentious issue of nuclear disarmament. The revision reflected Japan’s aim to build a consensus ahead of a Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty review conference which was scheduled to be held between April and May 2020. The review conference was postponed until next year due to the new coronavirus pandemic.

The 2020 resolution submitted by Japan newly stressed the importance of the US-Russia New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, or New START, and recognized the dialogue involving countries concerned on extending the treaty, which is now set to expire in February 2021.

As with last year’s resolution, this year’s document did not directly mention the UN nuclear ban treaty.

JIJI Press