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High-level speakers urge action at the CD

Beatrice Fihn | Reaching Critical Will

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) met twice on Monday, 28 February to hear high-level statements from the United Nations General Assembly President, Austria, Canada, Finland, the United States, and Mexico. Comments were also made by the delegations of Brazil, Pakistan, China, Algeria, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, United Kingdom, and a joint statement by Canada, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Switzerland.

Highlights

  • US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton called for the CD to start negotiations on a fissile materials cut-off treaty (FMCT) and criticized the “one country” that continues to prevent the international community from making progress. She indicated that the US supports reducing stocks of separated plutonium and highly enriched uranium.
  • Ms. Clinton repeated that her delegation has limited patience and if negotiations are not able to start in the CD, the US will be determined to pursue other options.
  • For the first time, a President of the General Assembly addressed the CD. Mr. Joseph Deiss highlighted that the General Assembly is ready to make its contribution to the revitalization process of the CD and encouraged a discussion on the follow-up of the high-level meeting held last year.
  • The Finnish foreign minister, Mr. Alexander Stubb, noted that no real progress has been made since the high-level meeting in September 2010 and found some delegations use of “procedural hurdles,” without offering credible alternatives, to be dishonest.
  • Dr. Michael Spindelegger, the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria, stated that if the CD is not able to deliver results, “we must explore alternative working structures here in Geneva”.
  • Mr. Juan Manuel Gomez Robledo, Vice-Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights of Mexico, reminded delegations of Mexico’s attempt in 2005, together with a group of other delegations, to try to start disarmament negotiations through the General Assembly. While it had not been successful in 2005, Mr. Gomez Robledo stated that Mexico was willing to put forward a similar proposal again. 

The General Assembly and the CD
The President of the General Assembly, Mr. Joseph Deiss, highlighted that the General Assembly is ready to make its contribution to the revitalization process of the D and voiced his concerns about the rule of consensus being used for blocking work. He argued thatCD/1864 is a sound basis upon which to commence work and supported the UN Secretary-General’s ambition to breathe new life in the CD through his Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters.

In a brief interactive discussion, delegations had the opportunity to comment on the GA President’s remarks. Ambassador Macedo Soares of Brazil suggested that delegations should examine the best ways for the General Assembly and its First Committee to assist the Conference on Disarmament in its exclusive task of negotiating legal instruments on disarmament. Ms. Jo Adamson of the UK delegation asked if the GA President could take back a message to the Secretary-General that his Advisory Board could reach out to the institutions of the disarmament machinery and engage in discussions with delegations in Geneva and New York.

Revitalizing the CD
All high-level speakers shared concerns about the lack of progress in the CD and some called for alternative approaches if the deadlock remained.  The Finnish foreign minister, Mr. Alexander Stubb, noted that no real progress has been made since the high-level meeting on 24 September 2010 and found some delegations use of “procedural hurdles,” without offering credible alternatives, to be dishonest. Mr. Lawrence Cannon, Foreign Minister of Canada, noted that if consensus continues to block a programme of work in the CD, countries will increasingly look to find disarmament results in other fora, such as in the UNGA, where consensus is not required. However, he also stated that the consensus rule was not developed by accident and that perhaps instead delegations need to “re-invent” their approaches to work in the CD.

US Secretary of State, Ms. Hillary Clinton, highlighted that one single country, “a friend and partner of the United States,” continues to undermine the international consensus around a programme of work in the CD. While she stated that the principle of consensus had always been cherished by the US, “our patience is not infinite”. Ms. Clinton noted that if negotiations were not able to start in the CD, the US would be determined to pursue other options.

Mr. Juan Manuel Gomez Robledo, Vice-Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights of Mexico, argued that his delegation has always respected the CD and its rules, but could not accept the current. He stated that the CD could not continue to be an obstacle to complete disarmament. Mr. Gomez Robledo also emphasized that thematic debates and speeches do not represent substantive work and does not mean that the CD complies with its negotiating mandate. He noted that it rather could be considered as duplicating the work of the UN Disarmament Commission.

Dr. Spindelegger, the Federal Minister for European and International Affairs of Austria, reminded delegations of the message from the high-level meeting in September, that the CD has become irrelevant and now faces the real danger of becoming obsolete. He argued that for states that are not members of military alliances, such as Austria, a functional multilateral security institution would be a vital component of his country’s security and therefore, “paralysis is not an option.”  The Chinese ambassador asked delegations to consider the effects of the high-level meeting held last year, and asked if the meeting has succeeded in its objective. Ambassador Qun further argued that any attempt to revitalize the CD must maintain the position of the body, must uphold the rule of consensus, and must allow for the legitimate right to protect national security concerns.

Suggestions for follow-up to the high-level meeting
Dr. Spindelegger of Austria proposed that if the CD has not started work by the end of its current first session, the UNGA should hold a plenary debate on the follow-up of the high-level meeting and on the future of multilateral disarmament and noted that delegations should consider making future allocation of resources for the CD dependent on actual progress.

Ambassador Corr of Ireland, speaking on behalf of Canada, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, the Philippines, and Switzerland, suggested that the 65th session of the UNGA engage in a debate on the revitalization of the disarmament machinery, as a focused debate on this is urgently needed. Ambassador Corr argued that such a debate should take place in a near future and build the bridge to the 66th session, which should find solutions on this matter.

The Vice-Minister for Multilateral Affairs and Human Rights of Mexico reminded delegations of Mexico’s attempt in 2005, together with a group of other delegations, to try to start disarmament negotiations through the General Assembly. While it had not been successful in 2005, Mr. Gomez Robledo stated that Mexico is willing to put forward a similar proposal again.

Ambassador Jazaïry of Algeria did not believe that resorting to alternative mechanisms would provide the solutions needed for these pressing problems. Instead, the delegations of Algeria and Pakistan expressed support for convening of a fourth special session on disarmament (SSOD IV) to deal with the problems of the disarmament machinery. Ambassador Akram of Pakistan strongly opposed any attempts to amend the rules of procedure, arguing it would unravel the CD and harm the disarmament machinery as a whole. He also warned that if negotiations of an FMCT were taken outside the CD, one or more nuclear weapon possessors would not take part.

A fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT)
The representatives of Finland, Canada, China, the United States, Austria, and the President of the General Assembly called for negotiations on an FMCT. Ms. Clinton of the US pointed out that the world faced no shortage of ingredients for nuclear weapons and that halting production is in the interest of every country. She urged the CD to end the stalemate and open negotiations on an FMCT without further delay as “global nuclear security” was too important to allow the issue to drift unsolved forever. She argued, “if we are serious about reducing the possibility that fissile material could fall into terrorist hands, then we must reduce that amount of such material that is available.” Ms. Clinton also stated that the US supported reducing stocks of separated plutonium and highly enriched uranium, as well as minimizing use of highly enriched uranium for civilian purposes. Ambassador Akram of Pakistan, on the other hand, stated that theFMCT is not the only item on the agenda and argued that preferential treatment should not be given to one item at the expense of others. He believed that it was unfortunate that only negotiations of an FMCT would be a measure of the CD’s success and argued that the CD delegations should not directly or indirectly endorse an approach that did not enjoy the majority support of the international community.

Civil society
Dr. Spindelegger of Austria noted that one of the weaknesses of the CD is that there is so little interaction with civil society, and so little exchange of views with experts from academia and other organizations. He encouraged CD delegations to be more open in this regard. Also Mr. Gomez Robledo raised concerns about certain delegations’ resistance of greater interaction with civil society and argued that it would enrich the work of the CD.

Next plenary meeting
The CD will meet at 10:00 and at 15:00 on Tuesday, 1 March to continue to the list of high-level speakers. Amongst many others, Mr. Sergei Lavrov, Foreign Minister of the Russian Federation, will address the Conference.