25 June 2004

Rhianna Tyson, Project Associate, Reaching Critical Will

Final Edition, Second Session

At the end of the second session of the Conference on Disarmament, various ambassadors stressed the value of the informal plenary sessions that took place throughout these past weeks. As RCW has been on holiday for the past week, this advisory includes summaries of the past two sessions, June 16 and June 23.

All statements can be found at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/cd/speeches04/index.html.
Be sure to also check out Reaching Critical Will's newly updated Summary of Statements, a useful tool in assessing the positions of each CD Member State on the most pertinent issues facing this negotiating body. The Summary of Statements is available at:http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/cd/speeches04/topic.html.
And of course, this and all other CD Advisories are available at:http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/cd/speeches04/advisories.html.

On June 16, the Conference heard statements from Mr. Suren Badral, (Mongolia) acting President of the CD, and Ambassador Carlos Miranda of Spain.

In his farewell speech as Permanent Representative of Spain to the CD, Ambassador Miranda expressed his mixed feelings about leaving the Conference. He regrets leaving, "not because I am a cynic or a masochist," he said, tongue-in-cheek, but because he feels very priviledged to have worked on issues of security and disarmament. The informal plenaries that characterized this second session were "without doubt... of huge importance and utility," based not on nationality but on the collective security of the international community.

Mr. Suren Badral, Deputy Permanent Representative, delivered Mongolia's closing statement as President of the CD, while Ambassador Khasbazaryn Bekhbat was in Brazil. Mr. Badral recognized the informal plenaries as "the most fruitful undertakings" and "a serious confidence rebuilding exercise." At the close of this second session, said Mr. Badral, "we find ourselves in a more relaxed mode...we understand each other better... and (understand) what are the new priorities in the disarmament policy of the membership today."

Mr. Badral noted that the 50-year-old "Atoms for Peace" program, has "become... a troublemaker" and should be countered with what he "would dub 'Peace to Atoms.'"

He also called upon all Presidents of the 2004 session to "work together to reflect on and analyze the developments that have taken place both at and outside the Conference during their Presidency" and to build upon the A5 proposal. On June 24, Norway, Poland, Kenya and Nigeria all delivered statements in addition to Morocco, which assumes the next Presidency in the alphabetical rotation. Monglia also delivered a summary of Highlights of the Informal Plenaries that took place under its Presidency.

After the usual thanks and congratulations to his succeeding CD President, Ambassador Bekhbat offered a brief summary of the recent informal sessions on Negative Security Assurances (NSAs) (item 4), new types of weapons including radiological weapons (item 5), and comprehensive programme of disarmament (item 6).

He discussed the polarized- and predictable- views held by States regarding NSAs; many States advocate for a multilateral, unconditional and legally binding instrument negotiated in the CD while some Nuclear Weapon States maintain the view that unilateral declarations and Additional Protocols to Nuclear Weapon Free Zones (NWFZs) remain sufficient. Some States favor the NPT as the forum for negotiating a compromise on NSAs while others prefer to deal with assurances within the context of an Ad Hoc Committee on nuclear disarmament. Some argued that full compliance to the NPT should be a condition for such guarantees while still others maintained that "the importance of security assurances was greatly exaggerated" and not "relevant to today's threats."

The discussion on issue 5 led many to believe that criteria must be established for identifying new weapons of mass destruction. The debate was once again polarized; in one camp, States "remain convinced of the usefulness" of a global ban on radiological weapons, while others doubted "the efficacy" and necessity of such a ban.

In the discussion on "comprehensive programme of disarmament," some suggested that the CD also discuss nonproliferation of both conventional as well as nuclear weapons. Threats against "critical facilities and infrastructure" was also discussed under the framework of item 6.

There was a "lively discussion" on how to continue these informal plenary meetings, which many viewed as "the long awaited sign that, after many years of impasse, the Conference has finally moved forward from discussions on the programme of work to a new stage- that of actually addressing the substance."

Mr. Kjetil Paulsen, Deputy Permanent Representative of Norway, too, offered highlights of the informal plenaries. To Norway, the CD's demonstrated ability to address "so-called new issues" including terrorism, while "even revitaliz(ing)" "old" issues such as radiological weapons, testifies to the potential and sustainable relevance of the CD.

Mr. Paulsen believes that while negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut Off Treaty (FMCT) remain the priority for many delegations, including Norway, "those who advocate the prominence of nuclear disarmament or militarization of outer space have not rejected the importance of FMCT... This should be good news."

To many non-nuclear weapon states, NSAs, remain the utmost priority, and Mr. Paulsen hopes that these concerns will be "seriously taken into account" by the nuclear weapon states, whether "in the context of the CD or the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty."

In his farewell speech as Permanent Representative of Poland, Amassador Krzysztof Jakubowski discussed the "new perspectives" on international security that he has assumed since he first took office seven years ago. "The new reality in international security...is still taking shape, as every day we can see new developments of key importance to the global and regional peace and security." He refuted the claim that the CD has failed to do any substantive work. While it is true that the Conference "could not agree on a programme of work...the Conference served as a platform for exchanging views, informing about national positions, broadening mutual understanding (and served as) a perfect confidence-building measure of its own."

Ambassador Jakubowski referred the CD to his statement of February 22, which reaffirms the validity of the CD's work in the face of the "new challenges... (of) terrorism and weapons of amss destruction" and called for "new, innovative thinking" and "new vision."

He urged the Conference to regard a programme of work as "'a schedule of activities' or 'road map'," which will impel "great progress once it is able to make a start."

Kenya's Ambassador Philip Owade used his time on the floor to "underline the importance" of the Landmines Treaty, which is up for its first review in Nairobi, November 29 to December 3. In addition to inviting all CD members to the Review Conference, Ambassador Owade also welcomed "the recent pronouncements by the Governments of China and the United States"- two of the largest hold-out States to the Ottawa Convention- "at the ongoing intersessional meeting reaffirming their support for the principles enshrined in the Convention." He also thanked Ambassador Wolfang Petritsch, President-Designate of the Conference, as well as the Government of Canada, whose "unflinching support... is exemplary and worth singling out."

The Conference resumes its third and final session of 2004 on July 26, 2004.

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