A/RES/71/72
United Nations
Distr.: General
15 December 2016
General Assembly
Seventy-first session
Agenda item 98 (mm)
Resolution adopted by the General Assembly on 5 December 2016
[on the report of the First Committee (A/71/450)]
71/72.
Countering the threat posed by improvised
explosive devices
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 70/46 of 7 December 2015,
Expressing grave concern over the devastation caused by the increasing use of
improvised explosive devices by illegal armed groups, terrorists and other
unauthorized recipients, 1 which has affected a large number of countries and has
resulted in thousands of casualties, both civilian and military,
Expressing concern at the serious harm that such improvised explosive device
attacks have caused to United Nations staff and peacekeepers, and to humanitarian
workers, by threatening their lives, increasing the cost of their activities, limiting
their freedom of movement and affecting their ability to deliver on their mandates,
Expressing concern also about the negative impact of these attacks on
socioeconomic development, infrastructure and freedom of movement, and the
security and stability of States, and thus underlining the need to address this issue in
order to achieve relevant goals and targets under the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable
Development, 2 in particular target 16.1 on significantly reducing all forms of
violence and related death rates everywhere,
Recognizing that the wide spectrum of materials that can be used for the
manufacture of improvised explosive devices, including those sourced from the
military and civilian industry, contributes to their diverse nature and their
deployment methods, which thus requires an appropriate approach to the
formulation of measures to counter them,
Noting that the impact of improvised explosive devices spans a wide array of
policy areas and that, owing to the extent of the cross-cutting nature of the issue, a
whole-of-government approach focusing on the capacity of Governments to
effectively bring together several policy strands for comprehensive action is essential,
_______________
1
2
See resolution 69/51, A/CONF.192/BMS/2014/2 and A/71/187.
Resolution 70/1.
16-21215 (E)
*1621215*
Please recycle