‘A United Nations General Assembly committee has approved a resolution to launch negotiations on a treaty that would outlaw the production, stockpiling and use of nuclear weapons, despite objections from the world’s nuclear powers.
On Thursday, four of the five UN Security Council member states – Britain, France, Russia and the United States – joined 34 other countries and voted against the motion.
The fierce opposition from the world’s nuclear powers came as they had lobbied for weeks to garner ‘no’ votes.
A total of 16 countries, including China, India, and Pakistan that have relatively small but growing nuclear arms programs, abstained from voting. The resolution, presented by Austria, Ireland, Mexico, Nigeria, South Africa and Brazil, was finally adopted as 123 countries voted in its favor.’
Read more: Major nuclear powers vote against UN push to ban nuclear weapons
