Voting on UN resolution for nuclear ban treaty

On 23 December 2016, the UN General Assembly adopted a historic resolution to convene negotiations in 2017 on a treaty prohibiting nuclear weapons. The voting result was 113 nations in favour and 35 against, with 13 abstentions.

Earlier, the First Committee of the General Assembly, which deals with disarmament and international security matters, had adopted a draft of the same resolution (see voting result). The explanations of vote listed below were provided in the First Committee.

Several of the states that voted yes in the First Committee were absent for the General Assembly vote, presumably due to the late hour of the vote, when a number of government missions had already closed for Christmas.


[table style=”2″]

Afghanistan Yes Absent in FC
Albania Yes** No in FC
Algeria Yes
Andorra No
Angola* Yes
Antigua & Barbuda
Argentina Yes Explanation
Armenia Abstain
Australia No Explanation
Austria* Yes
Azerbaijan Yes
Bahamas* Yes
Bahrain Yes
Bangladesh Yes
Barbados Yes
Belarus Abstain
Belgium No Explanation
Belize* Yes in FC
Bhutan Yes
Bolivia Yes
Bosnia & Herzegovina
Botswana Yes
Brazil* Yes
Brunei Darussalam
Bulgaria No Explanation
Burkina Faso
Burundi* Yes in FC
Cabo Verde*
Cambodia Yes
Cameroon Yes in FC
Canada No Explanation
Central African Republic
Yes in FC
Chad Yes
Chile* Yes
China Abstain
Colombia Yes
Comoros Yes**
Costa Rica*
Cote d’Ivoire
Croatia No
Cuba Yes
Cyprus Yes
Czech Republic
No Explanation
DPRK (North Korea)
Yes in FC
DRC (Congo)*
Yes in FC
Denmark No Explanation
Djibouti Yes Absent in FC
Dominica Yes in FC
Dominican Republic* Yes
Ecuador* Yes
Egypt* Yes
El Salvador* Yes
Equatorial Guinea Yes
Eritrea Yes
Estonia Yes** No in FC
Ethiopia Yes
Fiji* Yes
Finland Abstain Explanation
France No Explanation
Gabon Yes
Gambia Yes in FC
Germany No Explanation
Ghana Yes
Greece No Explanation
Grenada* Yes in FC
Guatemala* Yes
Guinea Yes in FC
Guinea-Bissau* Yes in FC
Guyana Yes Abstain in FC
Honduras* Yes Absent in FC
Hungary No Explanation
Iceland No Explanation
India Abstain Explanation
Indonesia* Yes
Iran Yes Explanation
Iraq Yes
Ireland* Yes
Israel No
Italy Yes** No in FC
Jamaica* Yes
Japan No Explanation
Jordan Yes
Kazakhstan Yes
Kenya* Yes
Kiribati Yes
Kuwait Yes
Kyrgyzstan Abstain in FC
Latvia No Explanation
Lebanon Yes
Lesotho Yes
Libya* Yes
Liechtenstein* Yes
Lithuania No Explanation
Luxembourg No Explanation
Madagascar Yes
Malawi* Yes in FC
Malaysia* Yes
Maldives Yes
Mali Abstain
Malta* Yes
Marshall Islands* Yes
Mauritania* Yes
Mauritius Yes
Mexico* Yes
Micronesia (FSM) No
Monaco No
Mongolia Yes Absent in FC
Montenegro No Explanation
Morocco Abstain Explanation
Mozambique Yes
Myanmar Yes
Namibia* Yes
Yes in FC
Nepal Yes
Netherlands Abstain Explanation
New Zealand*
Nicaragua Abstain
Niger Yes
Nigeria* Yes
Norway No Explanation
Oman Yes
Pakistan Abstain Explanation
Palau* Yes
Panama* Yes
Papua New Guinea* Yes
Paraguay* Yes
Peru* Yes
Philippines* Yes
Poland No Explanation
Portugal No Explanation
Qatar Yes
Republic of Korea No Explanation
Republic of Moldova
Romania No Explanation
Russia No Explanation
Rwanda Yes in FC
St Kitts & Nevis Yes
St Lucia* Yes
St Vincent & Grenadines* Yes
Samoa* Yes in FC
San Marino* Yes
Sao Tome & Principe
Saudi Arabia Yes
Senegal Yes Absent in FC
Serbia No
Sierra Leone* Yes
Singapore Yes
Slovakia No Explanation
Slovenia No Explanation
Solomon Islands Yes in FC
Somalia Yes in FC
South Africa* Yes
South Sudan
Spain No Explanation
Sri Lanka* Yes
Sudan Abstain
Suriname Yes
Swaziland* Yes in FC
Sweden Yes Explanation
Switzerland Abstain Explanation
Tajikistan Yes Absent in FC
Thailand* Yes
TFYR Macedonia Yes
Timor-Leste Yes
Togo Yes
Tonga Yes
Trinidad & Tobago* Yes
Tunisia Yes
Turkey No Explanation
Turkmenistan Yes in FC
Tuvalu* Yes in FC
Uganda Yes
United Arab Emirates Yes
United Kingdom No
UR Tanzania Yes
United States No Explanation
Uruguay* Yes
Uzbekistan Abstain
Vanuatu Yes Abstain in FC
Venezuela* Yes
Viet Nam* Yes
Yemen Yes
Zambia* Yes in FC
Zimbabwe Yes
TOTAL 113 35 13


* Co-sponsor of the resolution.
** Albania, Estonia and Italy subsequently informed the UN secretariat that they had intended to vote no; the Comoros informed the secretariat that it had intended to abstain.
List of 57 co-sponsors:
Angola, Austria, Bahamas, Belize, Brazil, Burundi, Cabo Verde, Chile, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Fiji, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Honduras, Indonesia, Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Liberia, Libya, Liechtenstein, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mexico, Namibia, Nauru, New Zealand, Nigeria, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zambia.