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A/RES/25/2734 



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General Assembly

Distr: General
16 December 1970
Original: English

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Twenty-fifth session
Agenda item 32

Resolution adopted by the General Assembly

2734 (XXV). Declaration on the Strengthening of International Security

The General Assembly,

Recalling the determination of the peoples of the United Nations, as proclaimed by the Charter, to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war, and to this end to live together in peace with one another as good neighbours and to unite their strength to maintain international peace and security,

Considering that in order to fulfil the purposes and principles of the United Nations Member States must strictly abide by all provisions of the Charter,

Recalling its resolution 2606 (XXIV) of 16 December 1969 in which the General Assembly, inter alia, expressed the desire that the twenty-fifth year of the Organization's existence should be marked by new initiatives to promote peace, security, disarmament and economic and social progress for all mankind and the conviction of the urgent need to make the United Nations more effective as an instrument for maintaining international peace and security,

Mindful of the observations, proposals and suggestions advanced during the debate at the twenty-fourth session of the General Assembly or presented subsequently by Governments of Member States concerning the attainment of this objective, and of the report submitted by the Secretary-General in conformity with paragraph 5 of resolution 2606 (XXIV),/35

Having in mind the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations, adopted unanimously at the current session,/36

Conscious of its duty to examine in depth the present international situation and to study the means and recourses provided by the relevant provisions of the Charter in order to build peace, security and co-operation in the world,

1.Solemnly reaffirms the universal and unconditional validity of the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations as the basis of relations among States irrespective of their size, geographical location, level of development or political, economic and social systems and declares that the breach of these principles cannot be justified in any circumstances whatsoever;

2.Calls upon all States to adhere strictly in their international relations to the purposes and principles of the Charter, including the principle that States shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any State or in any other manner inconsistent with the purposes of the United Nations; the principle that States shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace and security and justice are not endangered; the duty not to intervene in matters within the domestic jurisdIction of any State, in accordance with the Charter; the duty of States to cooperate with one another in accordance with the Charter; the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples; the principle of sovereign equality of States; and the principle that States shall fulfil in good faith the obligations assumed by them in accordance with the Charter;

3.Solemnly reaffirms that, in the event of a conflict between the obligations of the Members of the United Nations under the Charter and their obligations under any other international agreement, their obligations under the Charter shall prevail;

4.Solemnly reaffirms that States must fully respect the sovereignty of other States and the right of peoples to determine their own destinies, free of external intervention, coercion or constraint, especially involving the threat or use of force, overt or covert, and refrain from any attempt aimed at the partial or total disruption of the national unity and territorial integrity of any other State or country;

5.Solemnly reaffirms that every State has the duty to refrain from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity and political independence of any other State, and that the territory of a State shall not be the object of military occupation resulting from the use of force in contravention of the provisions of the Charter, that the territory of a State shall not be the object of acquisition by another State resulting from the threat or use of force, that no territorial acquisition resulting from the threat or use of force shall be recognized as legal and that every State has the duty to refrain from organizing, instigating, assisting or participating in acts of civil strife or terrorist acts in another State;

6.Urges Member States to make full use and seek improved implementation of the means and methods provided for in the Charter for the exclusively peaceful settlement of any dispute or any situation, the continuance of which is likely to endanger the maintenance of international peace and security, including negotiation, inquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, resort to regional agencies or arrangements, good offices including those of the Secretary-General, or other peaceful means of their own choice, it being understood that the Security Council in dealing with such disputes or situations should also take into consideration that legal disputes should as a general rule be referred by the parties to the International Court of Justice in accordance with the provisions of the Statute of the Court;

7.Urges all Member States to respond to the immediate need to agree on guidelines for more effective peace-keeping operations in accordance with the Charter, which could increase the effectiveness of the United Nations in dealing with situations endangering international peace and security, and consequently to support the efforts of the Special Committee on Peacekeeping Operations to reach agreement on all questions relating to such operations, as well as on provisions for their appropriate and equitable financing;

8.Recognizes the need for effective, dynamic and flexible measures, in accordance with the Charter, to prevent and remove threats to the peace, suppress acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and in particular for measures to build, maintain and restore international peace and security;

9.Recommends that the Security Council take steps to facilitate the conclusion of the agreements envisaged in Article 43 of the Charter in order fully to develop its capacity for enforcement action as provided for under Chapter VII of the Charter;

10.Recommends that the Security Council consider, in conformity with Article 29 of the Charter, whenever appropriate and necessary, the desirability of establishing subsidiary organs, on an ad hoc basis, and with the participation of the parties concerned, when conditions so warrant, to assist the Council in the performance of its functions as defined in the Charter;

11.Recommends that all States contribute to the efforts to ensure peace and security for all nations and to establish, in accordance with the Charter, an effective system of universal collective security without military alliances;

12.Invites Member States to do their utmost to enhance by all possible means the authority and effectiveness of the Security Council and of its decisions;

13.Calls upon the Security Council, including the permanent members, to intensify efforts to discharge, in conformity with the Charter, its primary responsibility for the maintenance of international peace and security;

14.Recommends that Member States support the efforts of the Special Committee on the Question of Defining Aggression to bring its work to a successful conclusion, thus achieving the definition of aggression as soon as possible;

15.Reaffirms its competence under the Charter to discuss and recommend measures for the peaceful adjustment of any situation which it deems likely to impair the general welfare or friendly relations among States, including situations resulting from a violation of the provisions of the Charter setting forth the purposes and principles of the United Nations;

16.Urges all Member States to implement the decisions of the Security Council in accordance with their obligations under Article 25 of the Charter and to respect, as provided for in the Charter, the resolutions of United Nations organs responsible for the maintenance of international peace and security and the peaceful settlement of disputes;

17.Urges Member States to reaffirm their will to respect fully their obligations under international law in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Charter and to continue and intensify the efforts towards the progressive development and codification of international law;

18.Calls upon all States to desist from any forcible or other action which deprives peoples, in particular those still under colonial or any other form of external domination, of their inalienable right to self-determination, freedom and independence and to refrain from military and repressive measures aimed at preventing the attainment of independence by all dependent peoples in accordance with the Charter and in furtherance of the objectives of General Assembly resolution 1514 (XV) of 14 December 1960, and render assistance to the United Nations and, in accordance with the Charter, to the oppressed peoples in their legitimate struggle in order to bring about the speedy elimination of colonialism or any other form of external domination;

19.Affirms its belief that there is a close connexion between the strengthening of international security, disarmament and the economic development of countries, so that any progress made towards any of these objectives will constitute progress towards all of them;

20.Urges all States, particularly the nuclear-weapon States, to make urgent and concerted efforts within the framework of the Disarmament Decade and through other means for the cessation and reversal of the nuclear and conventional arms race at an early date, the elimination of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction and the conclusion of a treaty on general and complete disarmament under effective international control, as well as to ensure that the benefits of the technology of the peaceful use of nuclear energy shall be available to all States, to the maximum extent possible, without discrimination;

21.Emphatically reiterates the need to undertake, within the framework of the Second United Nations Development Decade, urgent and concerted international action based on a global strategy aimed at reducing and eliminating as soon as possible the economic gap between developed and developing countries, which is closely and essentially correlated to the strengthening of the security of all nations and the establishment of lasting international peace;

22.Solemnly reaffirms that universal respect for and full exercise of human rights and fundamental freedoms and the elimination of the violation of those rights are urgent and essential to the strengthening of international security, and hence resolutely condemns all forms of oppression, tyranny and discrimination, particularly racism and racial discrimination, wherever they occur;

23.Resolutely condemns the criminal policy of apartheid of the Government of South Africa and reaffirms the legitimacy of the struggle of the oppressed peoples to attain their human rights and fundamental freedoms and self-determination;

24.Expresses its conviction that the achievement of universality of the United Nations, in accordance with the Charter, would increase its effectiveness in strengthening international peace and security;

25.Considers that the promotion of international co-operation, including regional, subregional and bilateral co-operation among States, in keeping with the provisions of the Charter and based on the principle of equal rights and on strict respect for the sovereignty and independence of States, can contribute to the strengthening of international security;

26.Welcomes the decision of the Security Council/37 to hold periodic meetings in accordance with Article 28, paragraph 2, of the Charter and expresses the hope that these meetings will make an important contribution to the strengthening of international security;

27.Emphasizes the need for the United Nations to exert continuous efforts for the strengthening of international peace and security and requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to the General Assembly at its twenty-sixth session on steps taken in pursuance of the present Declaration.

1932nd plenary meeting
16 December 1970




Notes

35/ A/7922 and Add.1-6.

36/ Resolution 2625 (XXV).

37/ See Official Records of the Security Council, Twenty-fifth Year, 1544th meeting.