expressed the hope that other nuclear-neapon States would consider making similar declarations with respect to not being the first to use such weapons. That resolution nas adopted by 112 votes (including the Soviet Union) to 19 (including France, the United Kingdom, the United States and other Western States), with 15 abstentions (including China). 44. In the debate on the guestion, the Western countries continued to stress that peace and freedom and the prevention of all irar remained their objective. They repeatedly called attention to the fact thal the Charter of the United Nations, while prohibit.ing any nilitary aggression, fully recognized the right of self-defence. In particular, the United States asserted that, in an environment ofpersistent violations of the Charter and confronEed with large and growing forces' the Western countries had no choice but to insist that the right of self-defence could not be fettered. The Federal Republic of Germany stated that., in its opinion, any State which undertook not to make first use of a specific type of weapon obviously intended to reserve the right to use other vreapons in which it was superior. Secondly, the Federal Republic of Germany held that a self-imposed but unverifiable obligation not to resort to the first use of certain lteapons ltas notsufficient to meet its professed purpose as long as those rdeapons remained ready for use. Whether such an obligation r'ras really being honoured would become clearonly in the evenE of a confrontation, at which point it night be too late for the international community to react. The Federal Republic of Germany remained prepared to identify, within a mult.ilateral franework, practical measures for theprevention of nuclear rdar, within the context of the prevent.ion of war in general.
**Analysis**
The text appears to be discussing a resolution and debate related to nuclear weapons and the prevention of war, which suggests that the topic is more related to international relations and security rather than economic or social development. The language used is formal and diplomatic, indicating that the text is likely from a political or governmental context.

**Category**
International relations, Security