A/RES/56/24 4. Welcomes the initiatives towards disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and security undertaken by some countries at the regional and subregional levels; 5. Supports and encourages efforts aimed at promoting confidence-building measures at the regional and subregional levels to ease regional tensions and to further disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation measures at the regional and subregional levels; 6. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-seventh session the item entitled “Regional disarmament”. 68th plenary meeting 29 November 2001 I C ONVENTIONAL ARMS CONTROL AT THE REGIONAL AND SUBREGIONAL LEVELS The General Assembly, Recalling its resolutions 48/75 J of 16 December 1993, 49/75 O of 15 December 1994, 50/70 L of 12 December 1995, 51/45 Q of 10 December 1996, 52/38 Q of 9 December 1997, 53/77 P of 4 December 1998, 54/54 M of 1 December 1999 and 55/33 P of 20 November 2000, Recognizing the crucial role of conventional arms control in promoting regional and international peace and security, Convinced that conventional arms control needs to be pursued primarily in the regional and subregional contexts since most threats to peace and security in the post-cold-war era arise mainly among States located in the same region or subregion, Aware that the preservation of a balance in the defence capabilities of States at the lowest level of armaments would contribute to peace and stability and should be a prime objective of conventional arms control, Desirous of promoting agreements to strengthen regional peace and security at the lowest possible level of armaments and military forces, Noting with particular interest the initiatives taken in this regard in different regions of the world, in particular the commencement of consultations among a number of Latin American countries and the proposals for conventional arms control made in the context of South Asia, and recognizing, in the context of this subject, the relevance and value of the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe, 24 which is a cornerstone of European security, Believing that militarily significant States and States with larger military capabilities have a special responsibility in promoting such agreements for regional security, Believing also that an important objective of conventional arms control in regions of tension should be to prevent the possibility of military attack launched by surprise and to avoid aggression, _______________ 24 12 CD/1064.