India successfully opposes UN resolution calling upon it to voluntarily abandon nuclear weapons

India, backed by the United States, opposed a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution calling on India to voluntarily abandon its nuclear weapons.

(File picture: United Nations General Assembly)

The U.S. joined India to vote against a key part of the resolution on achieving a nuclear weapon-free world that called on India, Israel and Pakistan to immediately and unconditionally accede to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty as non-nuclear-weapon states and put all their nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards.

However, the resolution that targeted Israel and Pakistan was passed overwhelmingly.

India and the US were joined by Britain, Russia, Israel and North Korea in voting against the overall resolution on working towards a nuclear-weapon-free world.

India also voted against clauses in two other resolutions that, without naming any country, asked all countries to accede to the NPT while giving up their nuclear arsenals.

New Delhi has been firm in rejecting the NPT, which it considers is discriminatory in trying to preserve the nuclear weapons monopoly of five nations -- the US, Russia, China, France and Britain.

India also voted against a resolution pushing for conventional arms control at the regional and sub-regional levels and abstained on another urging nations not to carry out nuclear tests. These resolutions were however passed by overwhelming majorities.