The United Nations Security Council adopted a resolution in late September urging all states to refrain from conducting any nuclear weapons tests and called for prompt global implementation of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The resolution passed with a vote of 14 in favor, none against and one abstention (Egypt). That the United States took the initiative for the resolution apparently reflects President Barack Obama's desire to establish his nuclear disarmament legacy in the face of domestic opposition.
No punishment is provided for countries that ignore the resolution. Still it was significant that all five permanent members of the Security Council — the U.S., Russia, China, Britain and France — supported it, especially in view of the provocative acts by North Korea, which continues to defy earlier resolutions while maintaining its nuclear weapons development program, conducting two atomic tests this year.
All U.N. members, especially the nuclear weapons powers, must make strenuous efforts to turn this resolution into a meaningful first step toward creating a world free of nuclear arms.