Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 5 December 2016  [on the report of the First Committee (A/71/450)]   71/71.  Follow-up to the 2013 high-level meeting of the General  Assembly on nuclear disarmament         The General Assembly,     Recalling its resolutions 67/39 of 3 December 2012, 68/32 of 5 December  2013, 69/58 of 2 December 2014 and 70/34 of 7 December 2015,     Welcoming the convening of the high-level meeting of the General Assembly  on nuclear disarmament, on 26 September 2013, and recognizing its contribution to  furthering the objective of the total elimination of nuclear weapons,     Emphasizing the importance of seeking a safer world for all and achieving  peace and security in a world without nuclear weapons,     Reaffirming that effective measures of nuclear disarmament have the highest  priority, as affirmed at the first special session of the General Assembly devoted to  disarmament,     Convinced that nuclear disarmament and the total elimination of nuclear  weapons are the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear  weapons,     Acknowledging the significant contribution made by a number of countries  towards realizing the objective of nuclear disarmament by the establishment of  nuclear-weapon-free zones, as well as by voluntary renunciation of nuclear weapon  programmes or withdrawal of all nuclear weapons from their territories, and  strongly supporting the speedy establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the  Middle East,     Recalling the resolve of the Heads of State and Government, as contained in the  United Nations Millennium Declaration,1 to strive for the elimination of weapons of  mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, and to keep all options open for  achieving this aim, including the possibility of convening an international conference  to identify ways of eliminating nuclear dangers,   _______________  1 Resolution 55/2.    A/RES/71/71  Follow-up to the 2013 high-level meeting of the General Assembly on nuclear disarmament   2/3    Reaffirming the central role of the United Nations in the field of disarmament,  and also reaffirming the continued importance and relevance of multilateral  disarmament machinery as mandated by the General Assembly at its first special  session devoted to disarmament,     Acknowledging the important role of civil society, including non-governmental  organizations, academia, parliamentarians and the mass media, in advancing the  objective of nuclear disarmament,     Sharing the deep concern at the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of  any use of nuclear weapons, and in this context reaffirming the need for all States at  all times to comply with applicable international law, including international  humanitarian law,     Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General submitted pursuant to  resolution 70/34,2 and welcoming the fact that a large number of Member States  contributed their views to this report,     Mindful of the solemn obligations of States parties, undertaken in article VI of  the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, 3 particularly to pursue  negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear  arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament,     Expressing its deep concern that the negotiations in the Conference on  Disarmament for the conclusion of a comprehensive convention on nuclear weapons  have not yet commenced,     Determined to work collectively towards the realization of nuclear disarmament,     1.  Underlines the strong support, expressed at the high-level meeting of the  General Assembly on nuclear disarmament, held on 26 September 2013, for taking  urgent and effective measures to achieve the total elimination of nuclear weapons;     2.  Calls for urgent compliance with the legal obligations and the fulfilment  of the commitments undertaken on nuclear disarmament;     3.  Endorses the wide support expressed at the high-level meeting for a  comprehensive convention on nuclear weapons;     4.  Calls for the urgent commencement of negotiations in the Conference on  Disarmament for the early conclusion of a comprehensive convention on nuclear  weapons to prohibit their possession, development, production, acquisition, testing,  stockpiling, transfer, use or threat of use and to provide for their destruction;     5.  Recalls its decision to convene, no later than 2018, a United Nations  high-level international conference on nuclear disarmament to review the progress  made in this regard;     6.  Stresses the need to establish a preparatory committee for the United  Nations high-level international conference in New York;     7.  Takes note of the views provided by Member States with regard to  achieving the objective of the total elimination of nuclear weapons, in particular on  the elements of a comprehensive convention on nuclear weapons, as reflected in the  report submitted by the Secretary-General pursuant to resolution 70/34,2 and  _______________  2 A/71/131.  3 United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 729, No. 10485.    Follow-up to the 2013 high-level meeting of the General Assembly on nuclear disarmament  A/RES/71/71   3/3  requests the Secretary-General to forward this report to the Conference on  Disarmament and the Disarmament Commission for their early consideration;     8.  Welcomes the commemoration and promotion of 26 September as the  International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons devoted to  furthering this objective;     9.  Expresses its appreciation to Member States, the United Nations system  and  civil  society,  including  non-governmental  organizations,  academia,  parliamentarians, the mass media and individuals that developed activities in  promotion of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons;     10. Requests the President of the General Assembly to organize, on  26 September every year, a one-day high-level plenary meeting of the Assembly to  commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of  Nuclear Weapons;     11.  Decides that the aforementioned high-level plenary meeting shall be held  with the participation of Member and observer States, represented at the highest  possible level, as well as with the participation of the President of the General  Assembly and the Secretary-General;     12. Requests the Secretary-General to undertake all arrangements necessary  to commemorate and promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of  Nuclear Weapons, including through the United Nations Offices at Geneva and  Vienna, as well as the United Nations regional centres for peace and disarmament;     13. Calls upon Member States, the United Nations system and civil society,  including non-governmental organizations, academia, parliamentarians, the mass  media and individuals, to commemorate and promote the International Day for the  Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons through all means of educational and public  awareness-raising activities about the threat posed to humanity by nuclear weapons  and the necessity for their total elimination in order to mobilize international efforts  towards achieving the common goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world;     14. Requests the Secretary-General to seek the views of Member States with  regard to achieving the objective of the total elimination of nuclear weapons, in  particular on the elements of a comprehensive convention on nuclear weapons, and  to submit a report thereon to the General Assembly at its seventy-second session,  and also to transmit the report to the Conference on Disarmament;     15. Also requests the Secretary-General to report on the implementation of  the present resolution to the General Assembly at its seventy-second session;     16. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its seventy-second  session, under the item entitled “General and complete disarmament”, the sub-item  entitled “Follow-up to the 2013 high-level meeting of the General Assembly on  nuclear disarmament”.