Socialist Republic of Vietnam

Oct. 24 (VNA) -- Mr. Hoang Chi Trung, Counsellor of the Permanent Mission of Viet Nam to the United Nations on behalf of ASEAN countries at the First Committee of 55th UNGA, expressed full support for two draft resolutions under consideration by the First Committee, namely "Nuclear Disarmament" and "Follow-up to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice (ICJ) on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons".

Speaking at the working session of the First Committee held in New York on Oct. 23, 2000, he said: "First of all, we wish to emphasize that among the draft resolutions introduced this year on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, Myanmar's draft resolution is the most comprehensive one in nature. The ASEAN countries join in co-sponsoring this resolution in the hope that the international community will work hard together for the goal of total elimination of all nuclear weapons and to build a world free from such weapons in the near future. We are fully aware that this is a difficult endeavou and call for concerted efforts from both Nuclear Weapon States and Non-Nuclear Weapon States to carry out this task. The ASEAN countries, firm in our belief in nuclear disarmament as expressed in our attachment to the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (SEANWFZ), fully support the adoption of this important resolution.

"Secondly, we fully commend Malaysia's tireless efforts in upholding the historic advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice by introducing the draft resolution entitled "Follow-up to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons".

"The ASEAN countries attach great importance to the ruling of the ICJ on July 8, 1996 which stated that the threat or use of nuclear weapons would be generally contrary to the rules of international laws that are applicable in armed conflicts and its unanimous conclusion that there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith to bring to an early conclusion of a Nuclear Weapons Convention banning the development, production, testing, deployment, stockpiling, transfer, threat or use of nuclear weapons and providing for their elimination."