UN body asks US, USSR to stop A-arms buildup

December 15, 1982

For the first time, the United Nations General Assembly has appealed for a joint United States-Soviet freeze on the production of nuclear weapons.

The 157-nation assembly adopted the call by an overwhelming majority made up of the Soviet Union, its Warsaw Pact allies, and numerous nonaligned and neutral countries. The US and most Western countries opposed the call, which like all assembly resolutions is not binding.

Separately, the General Assembly unanimously adopted a resolution condemning South Africa for its commando raid on the capital of the neighboring state of Lesotho on Dec. 9.