16 February 2006

The 16 February Conference on Disarmament (CD) session of marked the end of the Polish Presidency. In addition to the changing of the guard, the CD session focused on increasing civil society’s engagement with the CD and updates to the China Russia working paper on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) (CD/1679). Morocco, Russian Federation, China, Ireland, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Netherlands, South Africa, Egypt, Brazil, Pakistan, Norway, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico and Algeria delivered statements.

Although he was delivering his outgoing statement, President Ambassador Zdzislaw Rapacki of Poland anticipated the process initiated by the Polish delegation to continue throughout the 2006 session: “It is, therefore, no time to sum up the co-operation of the 6 CD Presidents (the P6), consultations conducted by the Friends of Presidents, nor the activities envisaged in the time-table announced last week.”

Incoming President Ambassador In-kook Park of the Republic of Korea laid out some basic principles to guide the deliberations during his Presidency. Ambassador Park expects all delegations to have the chance to share their updated national position during the general debate session, suggesting interventions concentrate on Agenda Item I and II in accordance with the timetable. For the focused discussion on nuclear disarmament, he recommended delegations “make their interventions under relevant sub-items if applicable”. Finally, he suggested delegations invite experts from capitals and submit positions, ideas and proposals in writing to facilitate interactive discussions. Ambassador Park hoped that announcing an indicative timetable in advance would avoid “wasting precious time for discussion on what to discuss and [help delegations] be prepared for the constructive participation.”

Civil society’s involvement in the CD and the presentation of the International Women’s Day NGO statement drew attention in today’s plenary meeting. Ambassador Mary Whelan of Ireland recalled that for many years, International Women’s Day statements drafted by NGOs have been read to the CD by a member of the Secretariat. “To many of us it is inexplicable, and indeed highly offensive, that those women’s NGOs who draft the statement have not been permitted to deliver it themselves”, she stated. Ambassador Whelan has never heard any CD statement supporting the current practice, and has not been able to find any rule in the Rules of Procedure prohibiting the International Women’s Day statement from being delivered by its authors. Sarala Fernando, Ambassador of Sri Lanka, supported Ireland’s position, urging Ambassador Park and the P6 to attend to the issue. Delegations of Sweden, Netherlands, South Africa, Egypt, Brazil, Pakistan, Norway, Canada, New Zealand, Mexico and Algeria all echoed this support.

China and the Russian Federation circulated a second, updated and revised version of the “Compilation of Comments and Suggestions to the CD PAROS Working Paper CD/1679”. Ambassador Valery Loshchinin of Russia stated that the compilation would facilitate in-depth discussions; identify clusters of issues upon which Member States agree and disagree; help formulate and fine-tune positions of Capitals; and streamline the PAROS deliberations in the CD for 2006. Chinese Ambassador Cheng Jingye underscored that “extensive and in-depth discussions and our compilation will surely help to lay a good basis for negotiating and the concluding of a new legal instrument on outer space”, hoping the CD would re-establish the Ad Hoc Committee on outer space.

The Chinese and Russian compilation was commended by Sweden and Brazil for its timeliness, allowing for delegations to prepare and consult with capitals and experts before PAROS is scheduled to be discussed during the Russian Presidency in June. Ambassadors Paul Meyer of Canada and Tim Caughley of New Zealand both welcomed the initiative as a means of moving beyond general debates. Ambassador Meyer also underlined that CD membership entails obligations as well as rights, and called for those delegations which have not shared their national positions for years to do so. Enrique Ochoa of Mexico encouraged delegations to repeat this type of update in other subjects, and Canada recommended replicating the strategy of specificity and synthesizing various views.

Newly assigned Ambassador of Morocco, Mohammed Lorichki, urged the CD to demonstrate it can accomplish what it is mandated to do, with multilateralism as “the fundamental principle which must govern negotiations conducted…particularly in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation”. He expressed Morocco’s support for the outcomes of the 1995 and 2000 NPT Review Conferences, as well as for negotiations on a treaty on fissile materials, Negative Security Assurances and a convention on nuclear disarmament.

Ambassador Rapacki, in his statement as outgoing President of the CD, drew attention to today’s opening of the Winter Olympic Games in Turin and the ideals of unity, co-operation and peace symbolized in the five rings joined together in the Olympic flag. While some may say those ideals are fading, the Ambassador held, “both in Geneva and in Turin, they are very much alive”. We thank Ambassador Rapacki and the Polish delegation for their effort to not let these ideals fade during their CD Presidency.

-Alex Sundberg, Disarmament Intern
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom