A/RES/54/43
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and broaden participation in the United Nations system for the standardized reporting of military
expenditures,
Expressing its appreciation to the Secretary-General for providing Member States with the reports
on military expenditures in standardized form reported by States and on the guidelines and
recommendations for objective information on military matters,
Welcoming the decision of many Member States to exchange and to publish information annually on
their military budgets and to implement the guidelines and recommendations for objective information on
military matters, as appropriate,
Noting the efforts of several regional organizations to promote transparency of military expenditures,
including standardized annual exchanges of relevant information among their member States,
Reaffirming its firm conviction that a better flow of objective information on military matters can help
to relieve international tension and contribute to the building of confidence among States and to the
conclusion of concrete disarmament agreements,
Convinced that the improvement of international relations forms a sound basis for promoting further
openness and transparency in all military matters,
Recalling that the guidelines and recommendations for objective information on military matters
recommended certain areas for further consideration, such as the improvement of the United Nations
system for the standardized reporting of military expenditures,
1. Recommends the guidelines and recommendations for objective information on military matters
to all Member States for implementation, fully taking into account specific political, military and other
conditions prevailing in a region, on the basis of initiatives and with the agreement of the States of the
region concerned;
2. Welcomes the continuation by the Secretary-General of consultations with relevant international
bodies with a view to ascertaining the requirements for adjusting the present instrument to encourage wider
participation;
3. Expresses its appreciation to the Secretary-General for providing Member States with a report1
on the outcome of those consultations, as well as for his intention to organize international and regional
symposia and training seminars in the coming biennium, and notes his intention to encourage, inter alia,
the United Nations regional centres for peace and disarmament in Africa, in Asia and the Pacific, and in
Latin America and the Caribbean to assist Member States in their regions in enhancing their knowledge
of the standardized reporting system;
4. Calls upon all Member States to report annually, by 30 April, to the Secretary-General their
military expenditures for the latest fiscal year for which data are available, using, preferably and to the
extent possible, the reporting instrument as recommended in its resolution 35/142 B or, as appropriate, any
other format developed in conjunction with similar reporting on military expenditures to other international
or regional organizations;
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