UN General Assembly
1971

47. The question of disarmament continues to receive maximum attention from the international community, and yet world military expenditures have sky-rocketed to the awesome level of over $200,000 million per year. There is, therefore, an urgent need to make even more determined and concerted efforts to adopt meaningful and effective measures, including prohibition of underground nuclear testing, which will contribute to both nuclear and conventional disarmament. 48. The work of the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament has not made too significant progress this year. The basic weakness of that body, of course, lies in the absence of two nuclear Powers, the People's Republic of China and France, from its deliberations. However, we are pleased at the concrete steps taken in connexion with an agreement on bacteriological weapons.