I. Meaning of the term Disarmament: Disarmament means to stop the manufacturing and storage of the deadly war weapons. The world today is threatened with a nuclear holocaust. The necessity of realising effective disarmament was felt by all the leaders of the world because world peace is in danger. Many philosophers and intellectuals of the world are of the opinion that if the tendency of manufacturing and storing the deadly weapons is not checked it will endanger the whole humanity and the civilization.
Disarmament does not mean a blanket ban on production of arms and ammunition of any type. It means
1. ban on production of nuclear arms, chemical weapons and arms of mass destruction.
2. Reduction in the quality of arms and ammunitions and military strength more than necessary and
3. Destruction of arms of mass destruction and destruction of arms and ammunition in excess quantity.
II. Efforts made by UN towards disarmament:
1. The United Nations has been making efforts to make the big powers agree on disarmament but it has not achieved significant success. The very first resolution approved by the United Nations General Assembly on January 24, 1946, sought the elimination of atomic weapons of mass destruction.
2. In 1959 the General Assembly adopted as a goal for United Nations General and Complete Disarmament under effective international control.
3. After the 1959 UN resolution in 1961 the Soviet Union and the United States made a joint statement in the General Assembly expressing agreement on principles for negotiations towards complete disarmament.
4. In 1962 a committee was set up called Eighteen Nation Committee which was renamed as the conference committee on disarmament in 1969.
5. In 1978 from May 24 to July 1, the first special session on disarmament was organised.
6. The General Assembly declared the 1980s as the second Disarmament Decade. The second special session in 1982 and the third special session on disarmament was organised in 1988.
7. Along With these efforts by the United Nations negotiations among nations were also going on.
8. India also has been playing a leading role both in the U.N. and at other for this cause.
