04 November 2014

Yesterday, 3 November, the UN General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament and International Security overwhelmingly voted in favor of the annual non-binding resolution supporting the Mine Ban Treaty - 160 for, 0 against, and 17 abstentions.

Abstentions were primarily from states that have historically held this position, including the US. The US abstention is a dissapointment following the recently announced shift in its landmine policy.  

Most states that are not part of the treaty voted for this non-binding resolution including Armenia, Azerbaijan, China, Kazakhstan, Libya, Micronesia, and Morocco. See the full text of the resolution here.