13 September 2007

In the last formal plenary session of the 2007 Conference on Disarmament (CD), the annual report to the UN General Assembly was adopted by consensus. Tunisia, Canada, Iran, the EU (statement delivered by Portugal), Italy, Japan, South Africa (on behalf of the Group of 21), the Russian Federation, Brazil, Turkey, the United Kingdom, the Republic of Korea, Pakistan, China, and Ukraine took the floor and concluding remarks from CD President Ambassador Hamoui of Syria were presented.

The CD bid farewell to Ambassador Carlo Trezza of Italy and Ambassador Sayem Seyed Mohammad Kazem Sajjadpour of Iran, while welcoming the new Ambassador of Ireland, Dáithí Ó Ceallaigh.

The annual CD report reflects the progress of the 2007 session towards consensus on a program of work by chronicling the development of the "Presidential Proposal", beginning with the Presidential Draft Decision (L.1) put forth by Sweden in the first session, followed by the introduction of a clarifying Complementary Presidential Statement and the Draft Decision of the Conference in the second session, which linked the three documents in a concise package.

The report does not go into detail about the substantive thematic informal discussions, but rather lists documents produced in relation to these discussions, including the Coordinator's reports.

In his statement, Ambassador Kahn of Pakistan raised the question of why a fissile materials treaty was dealt with under agenda item 2, prevention of nuclear war, including all related matters, instead of agenda item 1, cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament. The report answered this question (paragraph 41) by "recognizing that the issues of the prohibition of production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices is pertinent to agenda item 1, this topic was discussed under agenda item 2, for practical reasons."

The report makes note of the intensive consultations between the P6 and delegations held before, between, and throughout the 2007 sessions, as a means to reaching an agreement on the Presidential Proposal. It also outlines the P6 decision to appoint Coordinators to chair informal meetings on each of the seven agenda items. The reports of the Coordinators were transmitted to the Secretary-General of the Conference in August 2007.

In contrast, last year's report included minimal description of the process of work on the agenda items. It listed a timetable for discussion of substantive issues, based on the P6 joint proposal, which experts from capitals participated in. In September 2006, when the CD wasdiscussing the annual report, the Netherlands suggested the report be used as a vehicle to endorse the timetable for substantive discussions that could be built upon in 2007. However, the final report did not include any conclusions or recommendations, except to request that the incoming Presidents conduct consultations during the intersessional period and to make recommendations based on all relevant proposals, views, and discussions (paragraph 25).

The 2007 annual report does note the situation that developed in the CD when certain Member States continued to block consensus on the Proposal while the majority of the Conference was ready to move forward. It quotes CD President Ambassador Hamoui's Report on the Third Session, in which he stated, "A wide range of delegations expressed their support for the Presidential Proposal. Some delegations, though they had some concerns about certain elements of in the Proposal, said that they would not oppose consensus on it. Others expressed their position that more work and consultations were needed to reach a consensus on it. The CD has achieved substantive progress by conducting important thematic debates on all agenda items and advancing considerably in its efforts but could not yet reach consensus on a program of work. A momentum was created to move the CD out of its longstanding stalemate, and the efforts to reach an agreement to start substantive work must be continued."

The annual report also documents that a statement from the NGO Working Group on Peace of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women was read by the CD President on 6 March 2007, to mark International Women's Day. The report notes, "subsequently, a number of delegations expressed the view that the statement should be delivered by one of its authors." WILPF has consistently lobbied for the statement to be read by an NGO representative, but after 24 years, it continues to watch it read from the CD gallery--the same gallery that Ambassador Trezza of Italy referred to in his farewell remarks to the CD, when he said, with a glance upwards, thanks "to those who patiently follow our work from the gallery: a needed testimony of public interest in our deliberations."

Looking ahead to continuing the progress made in the CD this year, many delegations took the floor to express their frustration and hopes for achieving a consensus on the L.1 package. It will remain a focal point of the work of the 2008 session. Other delegations highlighted the continuation of work on a Fissile Materials Treaty (FMT) and Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) in next year's session.

Italy was optimistic about continuing work on an FMT. Ambassador Trezza stated that the question of verification in an FMT can be overcome, and, "it should be made clear to capitals that the main issue is not verification as such but whether verification should be a precondition for negotiations." Ambassador Trezza also reminded Members of the CD blocking consensus on the L.1 proposal over concerns about verification that "by accepting L1, delegations do not rule anything out. They do not exclude verification and there is no reason to believe that deliberations on it would be rejected in a negotiation."

Japan took the floor to say that starting negotiations on an FMT is the next logical step for the CD to take. The Conference should build on this year's discussions, where in the first session the CD "engaged in various debates without any preconditions." This year, Ambassador Tarui said, "proactive discussions were held on a verification system, with many countries stressing the importance of such a system, or deliberating on in what form verification could be introduced, while opposite positions were also provided." Ambassador Tarui added that he would like to point out that there is nothing preventing the CD from commencing negotiations without preconditions.

Portugal, on behalf of the EU, reminded the Conference that the EU attaches a "clear priority" to the negotiation of the FMT. Portugal also called attention to the issue of membership and enlarging the CD, as, while Portugal delivered the EU statement, it is not a member of the Conference itself.

Pakistan also discussed the importance it places on an FMT, reiterating its position of August 2 that Pakistan is in favor of a "non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty, taking into account the security concerns of all states." Ambassador Masood Khan pointed out that Pakistan's positions in the CD are determined by the policies of its National Command Authority and are "anchored in its core national security interests." Referring to recent nuclear developments in South Asia and their serious implications for regional stability, Pakistan suggested that they would only be comfortable negotiating an FMT with a negotiation mandate that included verification, and that "distinctly recognize[s] the possibility of taking up the question of the scope of the treaty and the existing stocks of fissile material."

Pakistan went on to say that all four core issues should be given equal and balanced treatment, and that negotiations should be conducted by an Ad Hoc Committee.

Meanwhile, Canada introduced UNIDIR's Report on its April conference on Space Security, entitled "Celebrating the Space Age: 50 Years of Space Technology, 40 Years of the Outer Space Treaty." Russia stated that the report will be useful for the CD's work in the coming year on PAROS, and reiterated that outer space security is a priority for the Russian Federation. China stated that PAROS and space security was also a priority concern for its government.

Four of the six 2008 CD Presidents spoke during the plenary, indicating that they will continue to work together in the cooperative P6 spirit. Tunisia, the first incoming CD President for 2008, announced that it will hold consultations during the intersessional period with a view to making useful progress. Turkey, Ukraine, and the United Kingdom also took the floor, and expressed their willingness to work together and to build on the work done in 2007. The other 2008 CD Presidents will be the United States and Venezuela.

As this year's session of the Conference on Disarmament draws to a close, it is evident that there is a sense of pragmatic and cautious optimism in the Conference chamber about the coming year. While many delegations are frustrated and disappointed that the CD was unable to reach consensus on a program of work, there is a clear sense of wanting to build on what the CD was able to accomplish this year, to continue the momentum into next year's work, and to achieve concrete results.

As the Ambassador of Brazil said in his remarks, "We must not let all this work be useless. Otherwise, like in the myth of Sisyphus, the work of the CD will be like rolling the stone again and again to the top of the mountain and letting it fall down on its own weight. There can't be a more severe punishment than futile and hopeless labor. We owe it to ourselves at least to build up on the foundation layered this year and I sincerely hope that this will lead to the consolidation of the P6 platform in order to allow us to build upon the important work developed in the first part of the first session and find consensus on the start of negotiations in 2008."

There will be an informal plenary next week to discuss the draft resolution to the General Assembly.

The 2008 CD Schedule is as follows:
First Part: 21 January- 28 March
Second Part: 12 May- 27 June
Third Part: 28 July – 12 September

- Katherine Harrison and Susi Snyder, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

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