CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT DISCUSSES HIGH-LEVEL MEETING ON DISARMAMENT

The Conference on Disarmament this morning held a short plenary during which Anatole Fabien Marie Nkou, President of the Conference on Disarmament, thanked all delegations for the warm welcome given last week to his Foreign Minister, Henry Eyebe Ayissi of Cameroon. He then proposed that the Conference go into an informal meeting to take up the consideration of the Conference’s draft annual report to the General Assembly.

After having done so, the Conference resumed its plenary later in the afternoon, during which it heard from Iran on behalf of the Group of 21, Malaysia, the United States and Chile on the upcoming High-Level Meeting on Disarmament.

The Group of 21 said that it noted with appreciation the opportunity presented by the High-Level Meeting. While reaffirming the importance of the Conference as the single multilateral negotiating body on disarmament, the Group expressed its disappointment that the Conference had not been able to undertake substantive work on its agenda. The Group therefore reiterated its call on the Conference Members to adopt and implement a balanced and comprehensive programme of work. The Group reaffirmed that nuclear disarmament remained its highest priority and reiterated its call on the Conference to agree on establishing an ad hoc committee on nuclear disarmament as soon as possible.

Malaysia said that it was disappointing that the Conference could not agree on a programme of work in light of last year’s accomplishments; this situation was eroding the credibility of the Conference. Malaysia welcomed the convening of the High-Level Meeting. The Meeting should also consider new ways to move forward and make substantive progress on disarmament. Malaysia also reaffirmed its support for an early convening of the Fourth Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Disarmament. Malaysia hoped that the High-Level Meeting would also look into the issue of expansion of the membership of the Conference, as well as enhanced engagement with non-governmental organizations.

The United States said that it still considered last year’s adopted programme of work as the best compromise. The continuing stalemate did not go unnoticed and did not reflect well on the Conference and they should not discount the possibility that the current atrophy would lead the Conference into irrelevance. The High-Level Meeting should be seen as an opportunity to reinvest in the Conference on Disarmament. While the United States welcomed the statement made by the Group of 21, it wondered how one could deal with a nuclear weapons convention without dealing first with the issue of fissile material.

Chile said that they would have preferred if the Conference itself had brought about a similar initiative as the Secretary-General did when he called for the High-Level Meeting.


The next plenary session of the Conference on Disarmament will take place on Tuesday, 14 September 2010 at 10 a.m.

Statements

ANATOLE FABIEN MARIE NKOU, President of the Conference on Disarmament (Cameroon), thanked all delegations for the warm welcome given last week to his Foreign Minister, Henry Eyebe Ayissi; the Minister had been deeply touched and his mission had been a success. He then proposed that the Conference go into an informal meeting to take up the consideration of the Conference’s draft report to the General Assembly of its 2010 Session

SEYED MOHAMAD REZA SAJADI, (Iran) speaking on behalf of the Group of 21, said that the Group noted with appreciation the opportunity presented by the High-Level Meeting. The Group reaffirmed the absolute validity of multilateral diplomacy in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation, and expressed its determination to promote multilateralism as the core principles of negotiations in these areas. While reaffirming the importance of the Conference as the single multilateral negotiating body on disarmament, the Group expressed its disappointment that the Conference had not been able to undertake substantive work on its agenda. The Group therefore reiterated its call on the Conference Members to adopt and implement a balanced and comprehensive programme of work. The Group also called on all Members to demonstrate flexibility to enable the Conference to resume its work.

The Group reaffirmed that nuclear disarmament remained its highest priority and reiterated its call on the Conference to agree on establishing an ad hoc committee on nuclear disarmament as soon as possible. The Group reaffirmed its full readiness to start negotiations on a phased programme for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons with a specified framework of time, including a nuclear weapons convention. The Group reaffirmed that the total elimination of nuclear weapons was the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. The Group believed in the importance of examining the possibility of expansion of the Conference’s membership, said Mr. Sajadi. The Group supported strengthening the Conference’s interaction with civil society as well as the convening of the Fourth Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on Disarmament to discuss and consider issues and machinery related to disarmament and, in this regard, expressed deep concern over the persistent lack of consensus on this issue.

AZRIL ABDUL AZIZ, (Malaysia), said that it was disappointing that the Conference on Disarmament could not agree on a programme of work in the light of last year’s accomplishments. They were extremely disappointed by the fact that another year would pass and that the Conference would have yet again failed to start crucial substantive work. Whilst they had seen some positive steps forward in disarmament this year, the Conference remained static or seemed to be moving backwards. This situation was eroding the credibility of the Conference. Malaysia welcomed the convening of the High-Level Meeting; it would provide a forum in which those within and outside of the Conference would be able to engage in a meaningful dialogue. The High-Level Meeting should also consider new ways to move forward and make substantive progress on disarmament. Malaysia also reaffirmed its support for an early convening of the Fourth Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on Disarmament.

While the High-Level Meeting might not be able to produce the miracle prescription to solve the myriad of issues surrounding the Conference, they hoped that the political attention generated would translate into actions and political will that would help revitalize and strengthen the Conference. Mr. Aziz said that, on the other hand, they were rather dismayed by the fact that the Conference had yet to agree on elements to be forwarded to the High-Level Meeting. It was hard to comprehend that the Conference was not able to seize the opportunity presented. They allowed themselves to fall into the same procedural quagmire that had beleaguered the Conference for the past 12 years, debating on issues of procedures, format and approach towards the High-Level Meeting. Malaysia hoped that the High-Level Meeting would also look into the issue of expansion of the membership of the Conference, as well as enhanced engagement with non-governmental organizations. It might be the greatly needed impetus that the Conference needed to move forward.

LAURA KENNEDY, (United States of America), said that they welcomed the exchange of views on the upcoming High-Level Meeting. They believed that the Conference could be a valuable organization. The Conference work covered the full range of disarmament topics. They also welcomed the spirit of compromise reflected in last year’s adopted programme of work and the United States still considered this compromise to be the best way forward. The continuing stalemate did not go unnoticed and did not reflect well on the Conference and they should not discount the possibility that the current atrophy would lead the Conference into irrelevance. The High-Level Meeting should be seen as an opportunity to reinvest in the Conference on Disarmament. While she welcomed the statement made by the Group of 21, she however wondered how one could deal with a nuclear weapons convention without dealing first with the issue of fissile material.

LUCIANO PARODI, (Chile), said that they would have preferred if the Conference itself had brought about a similar initiative as the Secretary-General did when he called for the High-Level Meeting. They would participate in the High-Level Meeting in a constructive manner.

For use of the information media; not an official record

DC10/040E