UN member states on Thursday voted in favour of convening a conference in 2017 to begin negotiations on a treaty to ban all nuclear weapons. The resolution, which received 123 votes in favour, 38 votes against and 16 abstentions, passed a committee of the UN General Assembly despite heavy lobbying against it by nuclear states, especially the US, Britain and France, dpa reported. Due to US pressure, 27 of the 28 NATO member states voted against the resolution with the Netherlands abstaining. The resolution provides for the convening of two conferences in March and June next year "to negotiate a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination." The document was submitted by Austria, Brazil, Ireland, Mexico, Nigeria and South Africa. The resolution will have to be approved by a vote at the General Assembly as a whole, which it is expected to pass.
