CD concludes its 2009 session; adopts final report

On Thursday morning, the Conference on Disarmament (CD) adopted its report with amendments to the General Assembly. Representatives of Japan, Hungary, China, the European Union, Pakistan, Colombia, Algeria, Mexico, Bangladesh, the Philippines,Syria, Iran, the United States, the Republic of Korea, the Russian Federation, and Austria delivered interventions, most calling for a quick start to substantive work in 2010.

Brief highlights
- The CD adopted its report to the General Assembly, with amendments.
- The delegations of Japan, the Netherlands, and Canada submitted IPFM’s draft fissile materials treaty to the CD as an official document.
- The Hungarian State Secretary noted with optimism that capitals now have advanced warning about preparing for negotiations in early 2010.
- Many delegations, including those of the European Union, Bangladesh, the Russian Federation, and Austria, emphasized the benefit of the P6 formulation of CD presidents working with each other to ensure continuity throughout the year.
- A few delegations, including that of the European Union, Algeria, and the Philippines, called for the expansion of the CD’s membership.

The representative of the Philippines called on “the Secretariat, UNIDIR, and the NGO disarmament community, as well as the experts among the membership of the CD, to organize a series of orientation and training sessions and seminars to this end in the coming weeks before the start of the 2010 CD sessions.”

Pakistan’s representative reiterated what his delegation sees as “guiding principles” for next year’s work.

Mexico’s ambassador called on the CD to seek every means possible to transcend its difficulties, examine its methods of work, reflect on its mandate, and reestablish its credibility.

The CD president noted that the adoption of the programme of work and the character of consultations, which have become more transparent and interactive, marked significant changes for the CD.

In 2010, the CD will run its first part from 18 January–26 March, its second part from 31 May–16 July, and its third part from 9 August–24 September.

Report to General Assembly
At the beginning of the meeting, CD president Ambassador Strohal of Austria called for consideration of the final report,CD/WP.554/Rev.1, along with its amendements, CD/WP.554/Rev.1/Amend.2. The Conference adopted the report by consensus.

On behalf of the European Union, Sweden’s Ambassador Hellgren described the report as setting the stage for an early commencement of substantive work in 2010. He added, “We must finally give ourselves the opportunity to start promoting our national security interests in the course of real substantive work.”

The Republic of Korea’s ambassador said his delegation “was hoping for a more forward looking annual report containing an encouraging message to the international community on the continuity of our work based on CD/1864.” However, he also welcomed the “accommodating” manner in which negotiations over the report were conducted.

Speaking as the next incoming president of the CD, Ambassador Abdul Hannan of Bangladesh noted that the report asks the current and incoming presidents to conduct consultations during the intersessional period and to make recommendations to the 2010 session. Ambassador Hannan announced that he plans to work closely with Ambassador Strohal of Austria in this endeavour.

Next year’s work
Hungarian State Secretary Gábor Iklódy informed the CD that despite the disappointment of not implementing its programme of work, the Conference has still displayed positive momentum. He anticipates this momentum will demonstrate that the CD is able and wished to start substantive negotiations. He also noted that it has given capitals early warning that in 2010 the CD will start negotiations that will require effort, time, and experts.

The representative of Pakistan reiterated what his delegation sees as “guiding principles” for next year’s work, including:

-that the CD will adopt a programme of work “after negotiations in an open and transparent manner taking into account security interests and concerns of all of its member states;”

-that any decision on a programme of work should be for the current session and “without prejudice to any past, present, or future position, proposal, document or priority of any delegation, or any commitment undertaken in any other multilateral for a related to disarmament;”

-that the CD, as the “sole and single negotiating forum for arms control and disarmament treaties,” should not preclude outcomes under any agenda item;

- that the programme of work and its implementation framework be applied only to the yearly session and should not prejudice any future decision the CD might take on its work programme; and

- that all work should be carried out in accordance with the Rules of Procedure.

Algeria’s Ambassador Jazaïry argued that limiting a programme of work to one year contains a contradiction, for there are certain elements in the work programme that “clearly exceeded a one-year span.”

Colombia’s representative argued against setting aside the work and momentum created during the 2009 session, expressing hope that it will be possible to “have policies converge” next year. Syria’s representative noted that in 2007, the CD came very close to adopting a programme of work, but found something to be missing that prevented it from doing so. In 2008, it came closer to its goal but still failed. In 2009, he argued, the CD made more than one step forward but there is still “some little thing missing before our hopes can be met.” He urged the Conference to “accelerate” its efforts to fill this “gap”.

Mexico’s Ambassador Gómez-Oliver noted that disarmament initiatives have been put forward at the international, regional, and bilateral levels by leaders, governments, parliamentarians, NGOs, and academics, all with a view to taking advantage of the momentum toward a nuclear weapon free world. She noted that the CD’s adoption of a programme of work “raised expectations,” and that everyone is aware of the “deplorable history” that followed. She lamented that the CD, whose “very mandate would oblige it to be a main role player,” is not only on the margins but is actually blocking concrete action. She called on the CD to seek every means possible to transcend its difficulties, examine its methods of work, reflect on its mandate, and reestablish its credibility.

US Ambassador Larson noted, “It is clear that members will continue to harvest specific interests and concern about elements of next year’s work.” He reaffirmed his delegation’s commitment to work closely with the P6 and all members “to ensure that in 2010 the CD will continue the path of progress over the next few weeks and reembarqued upon this year.”

In his closing remarks, CD president Ambassador Strohal described the emotional highs and lows of the CD’s 2009 session, noting that no effort was spared in searching for consensus this year. He described the adoption of the programme of work as a moment of change and noted that there is a new willingness from many to address nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in a comprehensive and ambitious and proactive manner.

Fissile materials
Japan’s Ambassador Suda announced that his delegation, along with those of Canada and the Netherlands, jointly submitted to the CD a document prepared by the International Panel on Fissile Materials, entitled A Treaty Banning the Production of Fissile Materials for Nuclear Weapons or Other Nuclear Explosive Devices, with article-by-article explanations. He explained that the document is intended to provide CD members with “useful reference materials in the prospective negotiations of a fissile materials cut-off treaty” and that it does not reflect the national positions of the three states submitting it.

Landmines
Colombia’s representative called the CD’s attention to the Second Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty, to be held in Colombia on 29 November. In the interim, he invited all states and NGOs to attend an event to promote the summit on Tuesday, 22 September at 7:00 PM at the International Peace Institute in New York City.

Next CD session
In 2010, the CD will run its first part from 18 January–26 March, its second part from 31 May–16 July, and its third part from 9 August–24 September.

Notes from the gallery
WILPF is disappointed that the CD did not manage to engage in substantive work in 2009 despite all the positive momentum toward that goal. Its failure to reach consensus on implementing its programme of work reflects the deeply entrenched obstacles in the path of abolishing nuclear weapons. These obstacles are by no means intractable; the differences in delegate positions and concerns are certainly not impassable.

However, with only four months until the start of the 2010 session, CD member states have some intense intersessional consultations ahead of them to bridge the gaps between positions, or more importantly, resolve underlying concerns. The commitment of this year’s and next year’s P6 members to work together during these months is encouraging.

Some of the work toward consensus, however, can only be accomplished through the good faith relations between states in the international community at large. The impasse in the CD is a product of poor international relations, characterized by double-standards, discrimination, mistrust, and regional and international power imbalances. These issues deserve serious attention in the intervening months and should be considered in the context of moving toward an equitable nuclear weapon free world that enhances human security and the security for all life on the planet.

There will be many opportunities during these months for educational events in preparation for the CD’s 2010 session, as requested by the Philippine’s delegate. In particular, several non-governmental organizations and international organizations will hold side events and seminars during the UNGA First Committee on Disarmament and International Security in New York. Please check out Reaching Critical Will’s calendar of events as October draws nearer. Several organizations will also put out a variety of publications during this time, so be sure to check the NGO literature table outside of Conference Room 4 for information and analysis on all disarmament-related issues. Finally, please do not hesitate to contact Reaching Critical Will to discuss other opportunities for education and engagement with disarmament issues by writing to the Project Director at [email protected]

- Ray Acheson, Reaching Critical Will of WILPF