75^th Session of the UNGA

First Committee

Explanation of Vote of India

on Draft Resolutions under “Nuclear Cluster”

3 November 2020

L.6: Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons

I would like to state that India did not participate in the negotiations on the TPNW, therefore, will not become a party to the Treaty, and shall not be bound by any of the obligations that may arise from it. India believes that this Treaty does not constitute or contribute to the development of any customary international law.

India reiterates its commitment to the goal of a nuclear weapon free world. India believes that this goal can be achieved through a step-by-step process underwritten by a universal commitment and an agreed global and non-discriminatory multilateral framework, as outlined in our Working Paper titled "Nuclear Disarmament", submitted to the UNGA in 2006. In this regard, India supports the commencement of negotiations on a comprehensive Nuclear Weapons Convention in the CD.

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L.50: Nuclear Disarmament

We share the main objective of the draft resolution L.50, which is the complete elimination of nuclear weapons within a specified framework of time. Let me reiterate that India attaches a high priority to nuclear disarmament. 

However, we have abstained because of certain references to the NPT as well as the TPNW, on which India’s position is well known.

We support other provisions of the resolution, which we believe are consistent with India’s positions on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. We compliment Myanmar for retaining vital principled paragraphs in this resolution which are supported by a vast majority of member States.

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L.54: Towards a nuclear-weapon-free world: accelerating the implementation of nuclear disarmament commitments

We have voted against L.54 as well as its OP15 since India cannot accept the call to accede to the NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon State. In urging India to accede to NPT “promptly and without conditions,” the draft resolution negates the rules of customary international law, as enshrined in the Vienna Law of Treaties, which provides that a State’s acceptance, ratification or accession to a treaty is based on the principle of free consent. India is a responsible Nuclear Weapon State and therefore, there is no question of India joining the NPT as a non-nuclear weapon state.

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L.71: Joint courses of action and future-oriented dialogue towards a world without nuclear weapons

We acknowledge that Japan, the lead sponsor, is the only country to have suffered a nuclear weapons attack. We share the resolution’s aspiration on nuclear disarmament, but in substantive terms, the text has fallen short on this objective.

India supports the commencement of negotiations on an FMCT in the CD on the basis of CD/1299 and the mandate contained therein. So, the question of a moratorium on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons does not arise and hence our abstention on OP3(c). 

India remains committed to a nuclear weapon free world and to maintaining a unilateral and voluntary moratorium on nuclear explosive testing. Our views on the CTBT are well known and in view of these, we have voted against OP 3(d). 

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L.5: Humanitarian Consequences of Nuclear Weapons

India has voted in favour of resolution L.5 consistent with its participation in the three meetings in Oslo, Nayarit and Vienna on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons. Our participation in these meetings was premised on the shared concern on the serious threat to the survival of humankind that could be posed by the use of nuclear weapons. 

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L.2: The risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East

India believes that the focus of this resolution should be limited to the region that it intends to address. 

The 1969 Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, provides that States are bound by a treaty based on the principle of free consent. The call to those States remaining outside the NPT to accede to it and to accept IAEA safeguards on all their nuclear facilities is at variance with this principle. India is not a Party to the NPT and is not bound by its outcome documents. This applies also to certain operative paragraphs contained in L.2.

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L.10: African Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty

India respects the sovereign choice of non-nuclear weapon states to establish nuclear-weapon-free-zones on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at among the States of the region concerned. This principle is consistent with the provisions of SSOD-I and the UNDC Guidelines.

India enjoys friendly and mutually beneficial relations with countries of the African continent. India shares and supports their aspirations for enhancing the region’s well-being and security. We respect the sovereign choice of States Parties to the Pelindaba Treaty and welcome the successful entry into force of the Treaty. As a Nuclear Weapon State, India conveys its unambiguous assurance that it will respect the status of the African Nuclear Weapon Free Zone.

L.13 Mongolia's international security and nuclear-weapon-free-status

As a country that maintains close friendly ties with Mongolia, India welcomes the resolution contained in document L.13 on Mongolia’s international security and nuclear weapon-free status, which is adopted without a vote every year. We note the many steps that Mongolia has taken to reinforce such a status. Mongolia has received support and security assurances for such a status from Member States, particularly those States that possess nuclear weapons. India fully respects the choice made by Mongolia and conveys its unambiguous assurance that it will respect Mongolia’s nuclear weapon-free status. 

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L.55: Follow-up to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons

India has been the only State possessing nuclear weapons to have traditionally co-sponsored this resolution in the past. We were disappointed that substantive changes were made to the traditional text of the resolution in 2017. In particular, we were disappointed that references to the early conclusion of a Nuclear Weapons Convention, based on the Model Nuclear Weapons Convention co-submitted by the lead sponsors themselves, had been dropped. Further, the objective of this resolution, as reflected in OP2, is ambiguous. Therefore, my delegation had to withdraw its co-sponsorship and had to abstain on the resolution.

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L.73: Ethical Imperatives for a Nuclear Weapon Free World

On L.73, India agrees with several provisions of this resolution, in particular its acknowledgment that nuclear disarmament is a global public good of the highest order. We support the ICJ Advisory Opinion, that there exists a legal obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control. In this regard, India has supported the NAM proposal for the commencement of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament on a Comprehensive Nuclear Weapons Convention. 

The global elimination of nuclear weapons will require progressive steps aimed at reduction in their military utility, reduction in their role in security policies and a universal commitment, with a global and non-discriminatory multilateral framework for nuclear disarmament. Until that goal is accomplished, reflected in specific international legal instruments, questions relating to the immorality of nuclear weapons have to be examined in the framework of the sovereign responsibility of states to protect their security in a nuclearized global order put together on the pillars of nuclear deterrence. India's nuclear doctrine of credible minimum deterrence, with the posture of no-first use and non-use against non-nuclear weapons States achieves this very balance. 

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