12 March 2007

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) held a plenary meeting on Monday March 12, to hear speeches of from two ministers of foreign affairs: Maria Fernanda, Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade of Ecuador, and Jorge Valero, Vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of Venezuela. 

Nuclear Disarmament
Ecuador called for the CD to prohibit nuclear weapons in a convention on nuclear weapons with the goal of the total destruction of nuclear arsenals. Venezuela prioritized the elimination of nuclear weapons, the "unavoidable objective of today's world" and called on states with nuclear weapons to comply with the 13 practical steps towards nuclear disarmament (from 2000 Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty), particularly the call for good faith disarmament negotiations. It also called on the CD to establish a subsidiary body on nuclear disarmament (step 4). Venezuela said nuclear weapon states bear the most responsibility in this respect. However, it regretted that "the negative attitude of a small number of countries continues to block the practical implementation of nuclear disarmament." 

FissBan
Venezuela called for transparent negotiations leading to a convention to ban the production of fissile materials for weapons (FissBan), which it said should include existing stockpiles and a verification mechanism. Contradicting Western support for beginning negotiations a FissBan "without preconditions", meaning without stipulating that the ban be verified, Venezuela said that leaving verification to the "second phase" of negotiations contradicts the 1978 Special Session on Disarmament. It also reminded the CD of the "negative experience" of the Biological Weapons Convention, which was negotiated without a verification mechanism. States planned to elaborate such a mechanism later, but the United States subsequently blocked this. 

Negative Security Assurances
Both Ecuador and Venezuela called for a legally-binding universal and unconditional instrument to assure non nuclear states that nuclear weapons will not be used against them. Venezuela explained that "deterrence doctrines do not dismiss or remove the possibility of use" of nuclear weapons, making security assurances necessary. 

Speakers for March 13
The CD will hear the following speakers tomorrow, March 13, at 10am:
Vice President of Columbia;
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia;
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran;
Vice-Minister of Foreign Affair of Japan;
Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland;
Assistant Foreign Minister of Viet Nam; and
Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs of Italy.