Director-General's remarks at the Conference on Disarmament First Plenary Meeting

Conference on Disarmament First Plenary Meeting

Thursday, 25 January 2024, at 10:00

Room XIX, Palais des Nations

Mr. President, Ambassador Ray,
Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,
Ladies and gentlemen,

It is a pleasure to address you at the opening of this year’s Conference on Disarmament. Let me begin by wishing all of you a Happy New Year. 

This year unfolds against a backdrop of increased conflict and tension, underscoring the urgent need for progress in disarmament. Despite these challenges, I commend you for returning to consensus on your report last year and on the annual resolution adopted by the General Assembly in December.

As the single multilateral negotiating forum for disarmament, the Conference plays a pivotal role in crafting effective solutions to contemporary and emerging challenges. Today we face a new and complex set of security issues. A successful outcome in the work of the Conference would help to rebuild international trust and confidence. 

As the United Nations Secretary-General called for in his report, Our Common Agenda, we must pursue a stronger, more networked and inclusive multilateral system to navigate the evolving landscape of security threats. In this spirit, I urge you to return to proven methods and approaches to establishing the programme of work. I also encourage you to continue efforts to ensure inclusivity in your work, bearing in mind the principle of multilateralism and the goal of attaining the full, equal and meaningful participation of women.

Excellencies,
Distinguished delegates,

I implore each of you to demonstrate creativity and flexibility in order to steer us away from the perilous erosion of disarmament norms and arrangements we have witnessed in recent years. In the Secretary-General’s words, “it is the political decisions and actions of human beings that can either sustain or crush hopes for peace.” 

In the past, partial measures and efforts to build transparency and confidence have served as crucial steps toward the negotiation and elaboration of legally binding instruments, including on core items on the agenda of the Conference. I encourage you to consider how these approaches might benefit your work across your entire agenda. 

The conclusion of the 2024 session of the Conference will take us to the eve of the Summit of the Future. In his Policy Brief on a New Agenda for Peace, the Secretary-General underscored the need to reform the United Nations disarmament machinery. This includes the Conference on Disarmament and the Disarmament Commission, which should optimize their respective roles, including to build consensus progressively on evolving disarmament priorities.

In the meantime, I urge you to continue exploring small steps that can improve the effective function of the Conference. This can include more regular and systematic engagement with other United Nations disarmament bodies, especially those that have taken up issues relevant to the agenda of the CD.

I, together with my Secretariat, stand ready to support all initiatives to advance the work of the CD and reinvigorate this crucial forum. I wish you great success in your work this year. 

Thank you.