A/RES/56/24 Noting the reiteration by the States parties to the Treaty on the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons2 of their conviction that the Treaty is a cornerstone of nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament and the reaffirmation by the States parties of the importance of the decision on strengthening the review process for the Treaty, 58 the decision on principles and objectives for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament,58 the decision on the extension of the Treaty58 and the resolution on the Middle East, 58 adopted by the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Reiterating the highest priority accorded to nuclear disarmament in the Final Document of the Tenth Special Session of the General Assembly and by the international community, Recognizing that the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty43 and any proposed treaty on fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices must constitute disarmament measures, and not only non-proliferation measures, Welcoming the entry into force of the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START I), 59 to which Belarus, Kazakhstan, the Russian Federation, Ukraine and the United States of America are States parties, Welcoming also the ratification of the Treaty on Further Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START II) 60 by the Russian Federation, and looking forward to its early entry into force and its full implementation and to an early commencement of START III negotiations, Noting with appreciation the unilateral measures by the nuclear-weapon States for nuclear arms limitation, and encouraging them to take further such measures, Recognizing the complementarity of bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral negotiations on nuclear disarmament, and that bilateral negotiations can never replace multilateral negotiations in this respect, Noting the support expressed in the Conference on Disarmament and in the General Assembly for the elaboration of an international convention to assure nonnuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons, and the multilateral efforts in the Conference on Disarmament to reach agreement on such an international convention at an early date, Recalling the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, issued on 8 July 1996, 5 and welcoming the unanimous reaffirmation by all Judges of the Court that there exists an obligation for all States to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control, Mindful of paragraph 114 and other relevant recommendations in the Final Document of the Twelfth Conference of Heads of State or Government of NonAligned Countries, held at Durban, South Africa, from 29 August to 3 September _______________ 58 See 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document, Part I (NPT/CONF.1995/32 (Part I) and Corr.2), annex. 59 The United Nations Disarmament Yearbook, vol. 16: 1991 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.92.IX.1), appendix II. 60 Ibid., vol. 18: 1993 (United Nations publication, Sales No. E.94.IX.1), appendix II. 28