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CD continues looking for ways forward

Beatrice Fihn | Reaching Critical Will 

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) met on Thursday, 16 June, where the Secretary-General of the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL), Ms. Gioconda Úbeda Rivera, delivered a statement for the first time. Statements were also made by the delegations of Brazil, Japan, Spain, Mexico, Austria, Algeria, Pakistan, the Informal Group of Observer States (IGOS), Iran, the United States, Chile, Germany, Turkey, Algeria, and Ireland.

Highlights

  • The Secretary-General of OPANAL delivered a statement on the importance of Nuclear Weapon Free Zones (NWFZ) for disarmament.
  • Bulgaria, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, Turkey, and Spain announced that they have submitted a working paper containing elements of a fissile materials cut-off treaty (FMCT). 
  • Ambassador Suda of Japan gave a brief oral report on the third session of its side events on an FMCT.
  • The Algerian and Pakistani delegations expressed concerns that Italian ambassador Manfredi’s report from the informal discussions did not reflect their positions correctly.
  • The Iranian delegation argued that Ambassador Manfredi’s report was not consistent with what was set out in CD/WP.656/Rev.1.
  • Serbia, speaking on behalf of IGOS, asked if observer states could get an update on the status of the issue of appointing a special coordinator on the issue of membership expansion. The CD secretariat responded that it would provide such an update at the next plenary meeting.
  • Turkey believed that the CD is at a critical juncture and member states and the CD secretariat should therefore play a key role in unifying issues rather than divisive issues.

Ongoing fissile materials discussions
Ambassador Suda of Japan gave an oral report of the third round of side events on fissile materials that was organized by Japan and Australia.  He noted that this round once again focused on verification and dealt with such specific topics such as the relationship between definitions and verifications, tools of verifications, and legal structures and organizational matters concerning verification. Ambassador Suda announced that he is preparing a more detailed report that will be presented to the CD in his national capacity.

Spain announced that together with Bulgaria, Germany, Mexico, Netherlands, Romania, Sweden, and Turkey, it has submitted a working paper containing elements of an FMCT.  Ambassador Catalina noted that the paper did not include any completely new avenues of approach but hoped that this “comprehensive reflection of our common thought on some of the important elements of an FMCT will also be helpful to other states in preparation of future negotiations.”

On 1 June, Ambassador Manfredi of Italy reported from the informal meetings on agenda item 1 and 2 under the Chinese presidency. Today, the representatives of Algeria and Pakistan made interventions highlighting that they wish for their views to more appropriately reflected in this report. Mr. Khelif of Algeria expressed hope that the specific contributions of Algeria and its position on item 2 could be reflected, while the Pakistani delegation wanted to place on record its position on the Shannon Mandate.

Mr. Daryaei of Iran believed that the report of Ambassador Manfredi was not consistent with the decision taken in CD/WP.565/Rev.1, as it could be perceived as the report is to be negotiated, rather than a personal reflection. Mr. Reid of the United States highlighted the rules of procedure that states that any delegation can raise any issue at any time, and believed that the Italian ambassador raised his thoughts in line with this rule. Ambassador Hoffmann of Germany wondered if it would help the work of the CD to go into such minute procedural issues, especially when it was challenged to make progress on the substantive work. He wasn’t sure it reflected well on the CD and perhaps delegations should look at more productive areas of debate rather than these types of issues.

Nuclear weapon free zones
Ms. Gioconda Úbeda Rivera, the Secretary-General of OPANAL, visited the CD for the first time and noted the importance of sharing the agenda of international bodies that have disarmament as a goal. She emphasized that nuclear weapon free zones (NWFZ) such as the Tlateloco Treaty are means to complete nuclear disarmament and not ends in themselves. Ms. Úbeda Rivera highlighted the need for more cooperation between the different NWFZs, including Mongolia, as they go beyond their original concept and should be used as “bridges” that can be used towards negotiation of an agreement on nuclear disarmament. In this context, she drew attention to the two conferences of states parties that took place in 2005 and 2010 and urged for more communication between existing zones to foster and enhance coordination and promote the nuclear disarmament agenda. 

All states that took the floor welcomed the statement by the Secretary-General of OPANAL and Ambassador Hernández Basave of Mexico stated that his delegation had wished for the CD to engage in an interactive dialogue with the Secretary-General, in order to benefit from her presence fully.  The importance of NWFZs was further emphasized by the delegations of Brazil, Chile, Mexico, Algeria, and the United States.

Expansion of membership
Speaking on behalf of the IGOS, Ambassador Uglješa Zvekić of Serbia emphasized the wish of observer states to start a serious debate on membership enlargement. He asked the CD secretariat to brief the observer states on the membership expansion process, highlighting the CD’s past experiences and the role of the Special Coordinator. Mr. Valère Mantels of the CD secretariat responded that the secretariat would provide such an update at the next plenary meeting. Mr. O’Shea of Ireland stated that as one of the most recent additions to the CD members, Ireland knew what it was like to be an Observer State arguing for membership in the Conference and therefore supported the statement made by Serbia.

Mr. Oskiper of Turkey, however, pointed out that the CD is at a “critical juncture” at the moment and therefore the secretariat should play a key role in “unifying issues rather than divide”. He wished that members and observers of the CD should be mindful of this current critical moment. 

Notes from the gallery
After two informal meetings on the revitalization of the CD, some states continue to use the plenary meetings to attempt to move discussions on fissile materials forward, while others engage in procedural discussions regarding the format of such discussions.

It is essential that delegations start focusing on the task before them, revitalizing disarmament negotiations, rather than get tangled up in a dragged out process on revitalizing the machinery. Reaching Critical Will and the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy have produced a paper on how to move negotiations forward. In this paper, we call on the UN General Assembly to establish ad hoc committees on the core issues on the CD’s agenda. Most importantly, we call for negotiations on a fissile materials treaty and negotiations on negative security assurances or the prohibition of the use of nuclear weapons, tracks within negotiations, or discussions leading to negotiations, on a nuclear weapons convention or framework. We emphasize the importance of this integrated approach as alternative to the ineffectual sequencing that has not worked for disarmament. The goal is nuclear disarmament; the “core issues” that the CD is looking at are components of disarmament but must be embedded in an explicit disarmament context in order to be effective.

Next plenary meeting
The next plenary meeting will be held on Wednesday, 22 June at 15:00