13 February 2004
Rhianna Tyson, Project Associate
This week at the CD, China, Poland, and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea delivered statements to the plenary. The United States also circulated the text of a statement delivered by George Bush to the National Defense University.
All statements are available at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/cd/speeches04/index.html
The delegates also discussed the issue of NGO participation in the work of the CD, resulting in the first formal decision on the relationship of civil society to the CD. In addition to a formal recognition of the right of NGOs to attend formal sessions of the plenary, it was also acknowledged that NGOs have rights to all official documents, and to speak to the delegates at one informal meeting per annual session.
To read the draft decision and the Geneva NGO Committee on Disarmament’s response, see:http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/cd/speeches04/NGOs.html.
In his remarks to the National Defense University, George Bush outlined “seven proposals to strengthen the world’s efforts to stop the spread of deadly weapons” including:
*expanding the Proliferation Security Initiative to incorporate international intelligence, military, and police cooperation
*strengthening national and international export controls
*continuing the Cooperative Threat Reduction programs under the Nunn-Lugar legislation and the G8 10+10/10 initiative launched in Kananaskis, Canada
*prohibiting Non-Nuclear Weapon States without “full-scale, functioning enrichment and reprocessing plants” from developing their own nuclear materials, and purchasing it “at reasonable cost” from the “world’s leading nuclear exporters”
*prohibiting the export of equipment for civilian nuclear programs to States which have not signed the IAEA Additional Protocols
*creating a “special committee of the IAEA Board” to concentrate on safeguards and verification
*prohibiting States suspected of being in violation with the IAEA from serving on the Board of Governors
While some of these proposals and ideas are sure to surface at the upcoming NPT PrepCom meeting in New York, others will be pushed forward at the G8 summit meeting in June, or in a Security Council resolution on nonproliferation to be voted on in the upcoming months.
The statement has been circulated as an official document of the Conference as is available at:http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/cd/speeches04/12FebUS.pdf.
Whereas the U.S. statement discussed proposals and initiatives to be taken in the near future, Ambassador Hu Xiaodi of China announced several steps that China already has taken in the field of nonproliferation. He opened his remarks with a testimony to China’s commitment to “the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of all kinds of weapons of mass destruction,” without explicitly referencing the legal obligation of all Nuclear Weapon States to disarm.
In December, China published a White Paper entitled, “China’s Non-Proliferation Policy and Measures,” which elaborates “the characteristics of China’s nonproliferation export control system, its relevant concrete measures as well as the strict implementation of the laws and regulations on nonproliferation export control.” Ambassador Xiaodi maintained that their export control systems operate within internationally accepted frameworks.
Mr. Xiaodi avowed China’s participation in “all the relevant international treaties relating to nonproliferation.” Just this week, the first round of dialogue between China and the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) took place, four months after Foreign Minister Li Zhaoxing sent a letter to the MTCR Chair, declaring China’s willingness to join. Mr. Xiaodi also informed the plenary that China submitted its application for membership into the Nuclear Suppliers Group on January 26 of this year.
Ambassador Xiaodi also quoted text from the joint communiqué of France and China, issued on January 27. In this statement, France and China announced their pledges to:
*“set up a working group on arms control and nonproliferation in the framework of bilateral strategic dialogue…
*“attach importance to the strict observance of the NPT…(and) to make efforts to facilitate the entry-into-force of the CTBT…
*“hold a United Nations Security Council summit meeting on the issue of non-proliferation”
He concluded his intervention with a reiteration of China’s desire to prevent an arms race in outer space, as outlined in the A5 proposal.
The White Paper is available at: http://www.china.org.cn/e-white/20021209/II.htm.
In contrast to the U.S. and China's foci on nonproliferation, the DPRK stated that, "nuclear disarmament should be the first priority" of the work of the CD.
Ambassador Ri called for Negative Security Assurances (NSAs) to Non-Nuclear Weapon States as "a vital issue...in the context of the NPT." The focus on nonproliferation in an absence of equal attention to nuclear disarmament is, he argued, "escapist".
Ambassador Ri also called attention to the prevention of an arms race in outer space as "a pressing task facing the international community," calling for a "legally-binding instrument" to preserve outer space for all human kind.
Finally, Poland’s Ambassador Jakubowski delivered a lengthy statement that outlined concrete ways of moving forward for the CD as a whole. With an expressed high degree of confidence and optimism, Ambassador Jakubowski challenged his colleagues to start thinking creatively about their work.
Sprinkling his remarks with metaphors to Greek mythology, Ambassador Jakubowski urged creative approaches to the agenda, their rules of procedure, and the challenges facing the international community. Recalling the French ambassador’s “out-of-box issues,” he maintained that the “traditional agenda” already encompasses the new challenges of terrorism and WMD proliferation. He suggested:
*placing terrorism under agenda item 2, “Prevention of nuclear war including all related matters.”
*placing compliance, verification and inspections under agenda item 6, “Comprehensive programme of disarmament.”
*placing confidence building measures in conventional weapons under agenda item 7 “Transparency in armaments”
Like many of his colleagues in the CD, he expressed Poland’s belief that the Conference should immediately begin work on agenda items that already enjoy consensus, and establish subsidiary bodies to negotiate new treaties.
He also supported the CD President’s proposal for holding informal plenary meetings as a “legitimate way of conducting work by the Conference,” noting that Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam of Sri Lanka, Special Coordinator on the functioning of the Conference, also supported such a proposal. Ambassador Jakubowski believes that the CD has the best intellectual and structural preparation to deal with the substantive issues of international security and disarmament.
The delegates to the Conference should perhaps take their cue from the Polish ambassador, whose optimism and confidence in the CD, together with his "creative thinking" approaches to the challenges facing it, can offer much to their stalled negotiations. However, as stated by numerous Member States as well as the Secretary-General himself, no amount of optimism or creativity can replace the one vital ingredient: a critical mass of political will.