General Assembly: 52nd plenary meeting, 80th session

Amid rising geopolitical tensions, rapid advances in weapons technologies, and the erosion of key arms-control agreements, the General Assembly today adopted more than 60 resolutions and decisions put forward by its First Committee (Disarmament and International Security), including a new text addressing the risks of integrating artificial intelligence (AI) into the command, control and communications systems of nuclear weapons.

Introducing the First Committee’s report (document A/80/534), Rapporteur Ana Avila (Costa Rica) reported that “strict” time management and a drastic streamlining of its work allowed the body to conclude its work one day earlier than scheduled with five fewer plenary meetings than originally planned.

“These efficiencies did not dampen the interest in disarmament and international security issues, which continues to rise,” she stressed, noting that during the session, 156 delegations made statements within the general debate segment — three more than last year — while an “impressive” 471 interventions were made during the thematic discussion segment compared to 435 in 2024.

The Committee adopted 63 draft resolutions and decisions, 49 of which went to recorded votes, with only 14 draft proposals passed without a vote, she recalled. “The continuing divide amongst delegations is reflected in the 160 votes requested on proposals or parts thereof,” she observed.