sEressed Ehat in considering hon to prevent nuclear war effectively it was necessary not to lose sight of the intrrortance of conventional disarmament.^/40/49eEnglish Page 7 II. SURVEY OF DE\IEtOPIIENTS 8. Over the years, efforts to avert or reduce the danger of nuclear war have been pursued at various levels. 9. The first, specific resolution of Ehe United Nat,ions on the prohibition of the use of nuclear neapons was General Assembly resolution 1653 (XVI), adopted in 1961,at the initiaEive of a group of non-aligned countries, by 55 votes to 20, with 26 abstentions. In paragraph I of that resolucion, the Assembly declared that the use of nuclear and thermonuclear weapons would be a direct violat,ion of the Charterof the United Nations and that any State using sucb weapons would be acEing cont.rary to Ehe }aws of humanity and committing a crime against mankind andcivilization, and, in paraEraph 2, the Assembly reguested the Secretary-General to consult Government.s Eo ascertain their views on the possibility of convening a conference for signing a convention on the prohibition of the use of nuclear weaPons for war purposes. Sixty-two Governnents replied to the SecreEary-General'sinquiry. Vlhile a majority, including the Eastern European States, viewed favourably the possibility of convening such a conference for signing the proposed convention, the large number of negat.ive views and doubts expressed by Western and some other States was also significant. 10. In subsequent years, a number of countries continued to stress the irnportanceof a ban on the use of nuclear weapons. In L967, for instance, the Union of Soviet SocialisL Republics reguested that an item on tbe conclusion of a convention on theprohibition of the use of nuclear weapons be placed on the agenda of the General Assembly and it accompanied it.s request with the text of a draft, convention. The
**Analysis**
This text appears to be discussing international relations and disarmament, specifically the efforts to prevent nuclear war and prohibit the use of nuclear weapons. The language used is formal and diplomatic, suggesting that it may be a document from an international organization or a government.

**Category**
International relations, Humanitarian aid and relief