§ The General Assembly
§ Recalling paragraph 105 of the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly, the first special session devoted to disarmament, which encourages Member States to ensure a better flow of information with regard to the various aspects of disarmament to avoid dissemination of false and tendentious information concerning armaments and to concentrate on the danger of escalation of the arms race and on the need for general and complete disarmament under effective international control.
§ Recalling its previous resolutions on the subject.
§ Taking note of the report of the Secretary-General prepared in conformity with resolution 41/59 B of 3 December 1986.
§ Recognising that the adoption of concrete, confidence-building measures on a global, regional or subregional level would greatly contribute to a reduction in international tension.
§ Believing that the adoption of such measures would contribute to greater openness and transparency, thus helping to prevent misperceptions of military capabilities and intentions, which could induce States to undertake armaments programmes leading to the acceleration of the arms race, in particular the nuclear-arms race, and to heightened international tensions.
§ Believing that objective information on military capabilities, in particular of nuclear weapons States and other militarily significant States, could contribute to the building of confidence among States and to the conclusion of concrete disarmament agreements and thereby help to halt and reverse the arms race.
§ Convinced that greater openness on military activities, inter alia, through transmittal of relevant information on these activities, including on the levels of military budgets, would contribute to increased confidence among States.
§ Taking into account the work undertaken in the Disarmament Commission on the reduction of military budgets.
§ Noting that an increased number of States have provided annual reports on military expenditure in conformity with the international system for the standardised reporting of military expenditures under the auspices of the United Nations.
§ 1. Reaffirms its firm conviction that a better flow of objective information on military capabilities would help relieve international tension and contribute to the building of 393W confidence among States on a global, regional or subregional level and to the conclusion of concrete disarmament agreements:
§ Recommends that those global, regional and subregional organizations that have already expressed support for the principle of practical and concrete confidence-building measures of a military nature on a global, regional or subregional level should intensify their efforts with a view to adopting such measures;
§ Recommends that all States, in particular nuclear-weapon States and other militarily significant States, should consider implementing additional measures based on the principles of openness and transparency, such as, for example, the international system for the standardized reporting of military expenditures, with the aim of achieving a realistic comparison of military budgets, facilitating the availability of objective information on, as well as objective assessment of, military capabilities and contributing towards the process of disarmament;
§ Invites all Member States to transmit to the Secretary-General, not later than 15 April 1988, their views concerning ways and means of ensuring confidence and further oppenness and transparency in military matters for submission to the General Assembly at its third special session devoted to disarmament;
§ Requests the General Assembly at its third special session devoted to disarmament to take into account all the provisions of the present resolution in its deliberations;
§ Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its third special session devoted to disarmament on the implementation of all the provisions of the resolutions on the subject;
§ Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its forty-third session the item entitled "Objective information on military matters".