United Nations Adopt US-Drafted Resolution on Nuclear Weapons

Via VOA News -

The United Nations Security Council has unanimously approved a resolution to increase efforts to eventually rid the world of nuclear weapons.

U.S. President Barack Obama presided over a special session of the Security Council Thursday.

The leaders of all 15 Security Council member nations voted for the U.S.-drafted resolution.

The plan sets a framework for dealing with nuclear arms reduction, disarmament and the threat of nuclear terrorism.

It calls for states to set up specific goals on nuclear arms reduction and disarmament, bolsters the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty, and calls for greater security of nuclear weapons materials to prevent them from falling into the hands of terrorists.

The resolution singles out Iran and North Korea as "major challenges" to the Security Council's efforts on non-proliferation.

Mr. Obama is the first U.S. president to chair a summit-level meeting at the council.

Also Thursday, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will give the opening speech of a two-day conference on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. This is the first time a U.S. delegation has participated in the biennial conference since 1999.

Clinton's husband, former U.S. President Bill Clinton, signed the treaty in 1996, but the U.S. Senate rejected it three years later.