The Secretary-General suggests informal process on a fissile material treaty

Beatrice Fihn | Reaching Critical Will of WILPF

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) met on Wednesday afternoon to hear a statement by the UN Secretary-General Mr. Ban-Ki Moon. After the speech, an informal meeting was convened in order for an exchange of views between delegations, observer states, and the Secretary-General. Civil society was not able to participate in this meeting.

The Secretary-General’s speech
While emphasizing that the CD is still “the undisputed home of international arms control efforts,” the Secretary-General warned that the inertia that has lasted for more than a decade put the credibility of this body at risk. “Continued inaction will only endanger its future as a multilateral negotiating forum,” he stated. He continued to urge the CD to get back to work in 2011 by suggesting that it adopt theprogramme of work from 2009, as he did in his conclusion at the high-level meeting in September 2010. The Secretary-General also drew attention to his decision to ask his Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters “to undertake a thorough review of the issues raised at the high-level meeting, including the possible establishment of a High-level Panel of Eminent Persons with a special focus on the functioning of the Conference on Disarmament” and underlined that he would keep the CD updated on this matter. The Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters will meet in New York on 23–25 February and on 29 June–1 July in Geneva for its 2011 session.

Aside from reaffirming his calls and suggestions from the high-level meeting, the Secretary-General drew special attention to the topic of a Fissile Material Treaty.  He noted that within the CD, “there is almost universal support for negotiations on such a treaty.” He warned that “while many Members continue to hope that formal negotiations will take place in the CD, a number of Members have recently suggested that alternative arrangements should be explored.”

Therefore, he proposed that the CD delegations, as a first step, could commence an informal process before agreeing on formal negotiations on a Fissile Material Treaty. He argued that it could simply be a basic process to educate each other and build trust, which will inform and facilitate the formal process once the CD adopts its work programme.

Next plenary meeting
The next plenary meeting will be held on Thursday, 27 January at 10:00 in the Council Chamber