Resolution adopted by the General Assembly  on 4 December 2023          [on the report of the First Committee (A/78/409, para. 89)]        78/51. Radiological weapons        The General Assembly,    Recalling its resolutions related to a prohibition of the development, production,  stockpiling and use of radiological weapons, including resolutions 2602 C (XXIV) of  16 December 1969, 34/87 A of 11 December 1979, 35/156 G of 12 December 1980,  36/97 B of 9 December 1981, 37/99 C of 13 December 1982, 38/188 D of  20 December 1983, 39/151 J of 17 December 1984, 40/94 D of 12 December 1985,  41/59 I of 3 December 1986, 42/38 F of 30 November 1987, 43/75 J of 7 December  1988, 44/116 T of 15 November 1989, 45/58 F of 4 December 1990, 46/36 E of  6 December 1991 and 47/52 B of 9 December 1992,    Reaffirming that the Conference on Disarmament, as the single multilateral  disarmament negotiating forum of the international community, has the primary role  in substantive negotiations on priority questions of disarmament,    Welcoming the work, in 1980, of the ad hoc committees of the Conference on  Disarmament established with a view to reaching an agreement on a convention  prohibiting the development, production, stockpiling and use of radiological  weapons1 and the work of the related ad hoc committees undertaken as recently as  1992 in this regard, and welcoming also the extensive work done in the years  following on this topic at the Conference under the long-standing agenda item entitled  “New types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons;  radiological weapons”,    Bearing in mind the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General  Assembly, the first special session devoted to disarmament, which was adopted by  consensus, and wherein it was noted that progress towards the goal of general and  complete disarmament can be achieved through the implementation of a programme  __________________    1  CD/133.   A/RES/78/51  Radiological weapons   23-24492 2/2    of action on disarmament, and included in that programme of action was a measure  that a convention should be concluded prohibiting the development, production,  stockpiling, and use of radiological weapons,2 and expressing interest in taking steps  towards this end,    Seriously concerned that the use of radiological weapons could have significant  health and economic impacts on civilian populations,    Noting the extensive existing frameworks to address radiological threats with a  focus on non-State actors, 3  including, among other instruments, the International  Atomic Energy Agency Code of Conduct on the Safety and Security of Radioactive  Sources, its supplementary Guidance on the Import and Export of Radioactive  Sources and its supplementary Guidance on the Management of Disused Radioactive  Sources, and wishing to complement, rather than duplicate, these existing measures,     Seeking to add to the landmark agreements that States have successfully  concluded on nuclear, chemical and biological weapons through renewed efforts to  address radiological weapons as a means to enhance international peace and security,    Reaffirming the need to ensure the equal, full and meaningful participation of  underrepresented groups and reflect gender perspectives and diverse participant  perspectives in the negotiation process,    1.  Calls upon all States not to use radiological weapons;     2.  Also calls upon all States not to develop, produce or stockpile devices or  materials for use as radiological weapons, while desiring to avoid interfering with the  legitimate uses of radioactive materials;     3.  Emphasizes that radiological weapons are a unique category of weapons  distinct and separate from nuclear, chemical and biological weapons;    4.  Urges the Conference on Disarmament to adopt, in 2024, a comprehensive  and balanced programme of work that includes the commencement of negotiations to  conclude, as an initial step on this issue, a legally binding multilateral prohibition of  the use of radiological weapons by States.    42nd plenary meeting  4 December 2023    __________________    2  Resolution S-10/2.    3  For the purposes of the present resolution, the General Assembly understands “non-State actor”  to mean an individual or entity not acting under the lawful authority of any State in conducting  activities that come within the scope of the present resolution.