UNITED NATIONS HIGH REPRESENTATIVE FOR DISARMAMENT AFFAIRS ADDRESSES CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT

The Conference on Disarmament today heard a statement by the United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Sergio Duarte. It also heard an opening address by the incoming President, as well as short statements by South Africa, on behalf of the Group of 21, Italy, and Peru.

Ambassador Faysal Khabbaz Hamoui of Syria, the incoming President of the Conference on Disarmament, in opening remarks, said that the 2007 session of the Conference had seen many strenuous efforts made in order to find common ground and a possible consensus on a way forward, and an end to the impasse that the Conference had languished under for so many years. Good progress had been achieved, and it was his hope that that progress could be used towards achieving a consensus on a programme of work and the start of substantive work.

Sergio Duarte, the United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, said that, despite the collective efforts of this year's Presidents, of their seven coordinators and of the entire membership, the Conference stood tantalisingly one short step away from resolving its longstanding impasse. The investment that had gone into this year's effort to find common ground surely represented a common desire to fulfil the Conference's mandate as a negotiating body, rather than a forum for debate. For such engagement to be sustained, Members had been anxious to ensure that their security priorities were adequately reflected. That had been so despite the fact that the rules of procedure guaranteed that each Member could protect its concerns at any decision-point along the way. The way forward surely depended on the ability of the Conference to forge common ground on a progressive basis, issue by issue. In the broadest sense, that dynamic was the very art of negotiation.

South Africa, on behalf of the Group of 21, Italy and Peru, all expressed their support for the incoming President and thanked the High Representative for his support. Peru also thanked all those who had shown solidarity following the recent earthquake.

Sergei Ordzhonikidze, Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament, said that they were all interested in seeing that what the Conference had achieved in June would not be lost. It was a good investment; it had been good progress; and the President had a good basis for presenting to the General Assembly that the Conference had made certain progress this year.

At the beginning of the meeting, the President of the Conference extended his condolences and those of the Conference to the families of the victims of the earthquake in Peru.


The next plenary of the Conference will be on Thursday, 30 August, at 10 a.m.


Statements

FAYSAL KHABBAZ HAMOUI, Incoming President of the Conference on Disarmament, said that, out the outset, he would like, on behalf of the Conference on Disarmament and on his own behalf, to express his sadness on learning of the tragic death and destruction wrought by a powerful earthquake south of Lima in Peru. He extended sincere condolences to the family and friends of those who died.

As today was the first meeting to be held under the Presidency of Syria, Mr. Ali wished to make some opening remarks. Cooperation between the Six Presidents of 2007 had been extremely useful and effective. He hoped that support on the part of member States would continue to be strong and sincere. The road ahead of them was long.

The 2007 session of the Conference on Disarmament had seen many strenuous efforts made in order to find common ground and a possible consensus on a way forward, to establish a programme of work for the Conference to end the impasse that the Conference had languished under for so many years. Good progress had been achieved, and it was Mr. Khabbaz Hamoui's hope that that progress could be used towards achieving a consensus and the start of substantive work. In that connection, he recalled the message of the Secretary-General delivered on 14 June 2007, in which the Secretary-General had urged everyone to make progress in a spirit of compromise and accommodation.

The Middle East was one of the regions of the world that was most torn by strife and conflict. Syria had always been of the opinion that ridding the region of the Middle East of nuclear weapons would lead to the improvement of opportunities to obtain permanent peace and security. Mr. Khabbaz Hamoui said Syria would continue its efforts to make the Middle East a nuclear-weapon-free zone in order that peace and security might reign and for development to take place.

The Conference had much to do, Mr. Khabbaz Hamoui said. Under his presidency, a report would be submitted on the 2007 session. That report would be prepared in a democratic and transparent way, through consensus. It would also be necessary to work for a consensus on a draft resolution for submission to the General Assembly. The Syrian Presidency would be open and positive and would take on board all constructive contributions. He would devote all of his time to work with his colleagues, the five Presidents, and all delegations, to achieve those objectives. He asked for the cooperation of all member States to obtain good results that would be satisfactory to all.

SERGIO DUARTE, the United Nations High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, said that he was grateful for the opportunity to address the Conference on Disarmament at this crucial time in its history. The importance the Secretary-General attached to the work of the Conference was evident from the several statements he had made to Members this year. Members would recall that, in June, the Secretary-General, anticipating a turning point in the fortunes of the Conference on Disarmament, said that a breakthrough would demonstrate "to the international community at large that the security challenges before us are not overwhelming, but can be addressed collectively". However, despite the collective efforts of this year's Presidents, of their seven coordinators and of the entire membership, the Conference stood tantalisingly one short step away from resolving its longstanding impasse.

Mr. Duarte said that the investment that had gone into this year's effort to find common ground surely represented a common desire to fulfil the Conference's mandate as a negotiating body, rather than a forum for debate. It signified, too, that Members were prepared to direct their energies towards four pre-eminent security priorities derived from the agenda of the Conference.

This year's investment, under the guidance of the Presidential Coordinators, had shown as well that the Conference could work to a comprehensive, calibrated schedule of activities – might he dare say a "programme of work" – in which engagement could be measured by the level of commitment to the issue of the moment.

Mr. Duarte appreciated that for such engagement to be sustained, Members had been anxious to ensure that their security priorities were adequately reflected. That had been so despite the fact that the rules of procedure guaranteed that each Member could protect its concerns at any decision-point along the way. As the Secretary-General had noted last June, "finding a fair accommodation now would deprive no Member of the ability to assert its national position" in phases that followed. The way forward surely depended on the ability of the Conference to forge common ground on a progressive basis, issue by issue. In the broadest sense, that dynamic was the very art of negotiation, the fundamental life blood of this body.

Mr. Duarte hoped Members would bring to the General Assembly in October a report and a resolution that would truly reflect the intensity of the Conference's determination to demonstrate that its potential as a negotiating body was not only alive, but that it was capable of realisation in the near future.

JOHANN KELLERMAN (South Africa), on behalf of the Group of 21, congratulated the incoming President, recalling that Syria was a member of the Group of 21, and the Group of 21 pledged support for his activities. The Group also welcomed the presence of the UN High Coordinator here and his pledge of support to the Conference on Disarmament and its members.

CARLO TREZZA (Italy) also congratulated the incoming President and pledged support for his coming endeavours. This was a significant moment for the Conference on Disarmament: they had a new President, they were entering into the final phase of their deliberations this year, and they had presence of the High Representative for the Secretary-General for Disarmament. Italy concurred with the President's views on the work done in the Conference this year, and the significant progress that had been made to restart negotiations in the Conference. They were getting close to a compromise. They should keep the momentum and not abandon efforts during this period.

ALEJANDRO NEYRA SANCHEZ (Peru) endorsed the congratulations addressed to the President by South Africa on behalf of the Group of 21. Peru felt that the presence of the High Representative was very important for their work. Peru thanked the President, the Conference, and all members of the international community who had shown their solidarity with the Peruvian people in the face of the natural disaster that had struck them. Natural disasters were unavoidable. Peru hoped that the Conference on Disarmament would arrive at a programme of work with the aim of avoiding those accidents, conflicts and disasters that were avoidable.

SERGEI ORDZHONIKIDZE, Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament, congratulated the incoming President who would be presiding over the very end of the session this year. Obviously, how he would steer the Conference would depend a lot on the presentation of their results. They were all interested in seeing what they had achieved in June would not be lost. It was a good investment; it had been good progress; and the President had a good basis for presenting to the General Assembly that the Conference had made certain progress this year.

Mr. Ordzhonikidze welcomed the presence of the High Representative of the Secretary-General today. That the High Representative had come at such a time showed that he was a true friend of disarmament efforts and was truly interested in seeing the Conference make progress.

For use of the information media; not an official record

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