Written Statement of the Government of India

Written Statement of the Governmentof India STATEMENT

The existence of nuclear weapons poses a threat to

the very survival of mankind. While the end of the Cold War
has ushered in some positive developments, the shadow of a

nuclear holocaust continues to loom over us. It is,
therefore, imperative that nuclear weapons be eliminated. A

first step in this direction would be to outlaw the use of
such weapons.

UNGA Resolution 1653(XVI) of 24 November 1961, 33/71B

of 14 December, 1978, 34/83 H of 11 December 1979, 35/152 D
of-12 December 1980 and 36/92 1 of 9 December 1981 have

declared that the use of nuclear weapons would be a
violation of the Charter and a crime against humanity.

In 1978, India called for a total prohibition of the

use of nuclear weapons on these grounds. Since 1982, we
have tabled a resolution calling for a Convention on the
Prohibition of the Use of Nuclear Weapons; the latest

resolution adopted by the UNGA was 48/76 B of 16 December
1993 on a "Convention on the Prohibition of the Use of

Nuclear Weapons". Since the international community has
agreed that the use of nuclear weapons constitutes a crime

against humanity, and a violation of the Charter, it follows
that the use of such weapons has already been generally

accepted as illegal.

International humanitarian law, including the Hague
Regulations, the Geneva Conventions of 1949 and the

Additional Protocolsthereto of 1977 prohibit indiscriminate
killing, or the use of weapons of mass destruction which

make it impossible to observe the fundamental distinction
between combatants on the one hand, and non-combatants and

protected perçons and places on the other. Therefore, the
use of nuclear weapons is a violation of international

humanitarian law. Reports of the WHO published in 1984 and 1987 on the
effects of nuclear war have clearlyestablished that even a
limited nuclear conflicc, which is a contradiction in terms,

will wreak unlimited damage, causing human suffering and
environmental destruction on an unprecedented scale. The

devastation that would be caused by the use of nuclear
weapons is totally out of proportion to the role claimed for

it in the defence of the national securityof a handful of
States. These weapons threaten human existence.

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The International Court of Justice is invited to

confirm the generally accepted view among nations that the
use of nuclear weaponsis illegal.