UNITED NATIONS, Sept. 24 (Xinhua) -- A historic resolution enhancing efforts toward nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation was unanimously adopted on Thursday at a special meeting of the United Nations Security Council chaired by U.S. President Barack Obama.
"I called for this one so that we may address at the highest level fundamental threat to all peoples and all nations, the spread and use of nuclear weapons," said Obama.
This is the fist time a U.S. president has chaired a Council meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the annual debate of the UN General Assembly.
World leaders including Chinese President Hu Jintao and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown attended the special nuclear session --the fourth time such a meeting was convened in the six decades of UN history.
Resolution 1887 endorses nations to begin talks on nuclear arms reduction and to negotiate "a treaty on general and complete disarmament."
The resolution does not single out any countries but Obama named Iran and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK) in reference to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
"We made it clear that the Security Council has both the authority and the responsibility to determine and respond as necessary when violations of this treaty threaten international peace and security," he said. "That includes full compliance with Security Council resolutions on Iran and North Korea."
"Let me be clear. This is not about singling out nations; it is about standing up for the rights of all nations who do live up to their responsibilities," he said.
But a well-placed senior UN diplomat told Xinhua that the resolution, while a welcome step, does not go far enough.
It leaves out key points, most notably the establishment of a subsidiary body on non-proliferation and disarmament and support for reform of the 15-nation Council to make it more effective in responding to violations of international obligations.
In his statement, Obama acknowledged the resolution acted more as "a broad framework for action."
Also lacking is any demand for a halt in the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons by all states possessing nuclear arsenals. Instead, it urges nations attending the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva to negotiate a treaty banning the production of weapons-grade plutonium and uranium "as soon as possible."
The resolution also urges nations to strengthen the NPT, which has limited the spread of nuclear weapons. The NPT review conference in May will be an attempt to reinforce the treaty's three pillars: non-proliferation, nuclear disarmament and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
The next 12 months, said Obama, will be critical in determining whether Resolution 1887 is successful. For its part, he said, the United States is pushing a new agreement with Russia to substantially reduce strategic warheads and launch vehicles.
The United States will also ratify the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), which was being discussed just down the hall in the United Nations. U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton led the American delegation at a two-day meeting to promote the entry into force of the CTBT, which turned 13 years old on Thursday.
The treaty has been signed by 181 nations and ratified by 149. Foreign ministers at the CTBT conference are expected to issue a final declaration calling upon countries to ratify the treaty.
"We harbor no illusions about the difficulty of bringing about a world without nuclear weapons," said Obama. "We know there are plenty of cynics and that there will be setbacks to prove their point."
"But there will also be days like today that push us forward, days that tell a different story," he said. "It is the story of a world that understands that no difference or division is worth destroying all that we have built and all that we love."
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