UN General Assembly
1990

The establishment of a South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone has thrown into even sharper contrast the way France continues to test its nuclear weapons, in defiance of the wishes of the countries of the region. Our protests against testing by a nuclear Power in the South Pacific, outside its metropolitan territory, have been ignored. It is intolerable that a region which is com- .¿d to nuclear-free principles should be used as a test site for the development of nuclear-weapon technology. For a number of years New Zealand and Australia have sponsored draft resolutions in this Assembly calling for an end to the testing of all nuclear weapons. We shall be sponsoring such a draft resolution again this year. More than any other single measure, a comprehensive test ban would help slow down the nuclear arms race. We ask the permanent members of the Security Council to respond to the overwhelming demand of the Assembly for the early achievement of a comprehensive test-ban treaty.