20 August 2004
Rhianna Tyson, Reaching Critical Will
This week at the Conference on Disarmament, a group of citizens from Nagasaki and Hiroshima looked on as Myanmar's Ambassador U Mya Than made his opening remarks as the new CD President. Israel's Ambassador Yaakov Levy delivered his farewell speech and Ambassador Zdzislaw Rapacki was welcomed as Poland's new Permanent Representative. Japan's Ambassador Yoshiki Mine also delivered a brief intervention.
Ambassador Than, charged with writing the report for the General Assembly, gave a brief overview of the CD's work throughout this past year, touching on the Decision on NGO participation, the open-ended informal consultations, the A5 proposal and Myanmar's suggested proposal.
He then presented a proposed outline of work for the remaining period, including:
- ongoing process of consultations on the establishment of Ad Hoc Committees;
- ongoing process of consultations on interim steps, including the appointment of Special Coordinators;
- the convening of informal plenary meetings (including one on "how to move forward on substantive issues);
and finally,
- report writing.
He invited all delegations "not in a position to go along with the A5 proposal" to "explain and make suggestions on ways and means to modify A5" in the upcoming informal plenary on the matter.
Ambassador Than asserted that as "a unique institution," the CD "cannot be recreated under the prevailing political circumstances, (n)or can it be replaced." He also affirmed the "cardinal rule" of consensus as "the strength of the CD" which should be respected.
In his farewell speech, Ambassador Levy maintained Israel's involvement in the CD, including its time as CD President, as "a demonstration of Israel's participation, on an equal footing, in the work of the international community." He also noted his satisfaction at being party to the decision on civil society's engagement with the CD.
The "interesting momentum" created by the recent informal plenaries "will no doubt enable the CD to better connect with current reality and emerge as an up-to-date body rather than as an isolated and lofty forum," Ambassador Levy stated, urging his colleagues to "be fully cognizant of current emerging threats, otherwise the chance of a breakthrough in its work could be remote," he warned.
In addition to confirming Israel's commitment to the rule of consensus, which he referred to as "the cornerstone of the world of disarmament," Ambassador Levy ascertained that disarmament is "not a goal as such, rather an instrument through which countries secure their vital interests."
While acknowledging the utility of informal plenaries, Ambassador Mine stressed "the importance of ... formal plenary meetings." He also discussed the recent UN Conference on Disarmament Issues held in Sapporo last month.
To read Reaching Critical Will's presentation at the Sapporo conference, see:http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/social/genderdisarm/humansec.pdf. ************************************************