January 31, 2005
The Conference on Disarmament (CD) opened its first session of 2005 last week under the rotating Presidency of Netherlands. The CD Secretary-General, Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, delivered a message on behalf of the UN Secretary-General, Kofi Annan. Russia, Peru, Kenya, France, Poland, Germany and Algeria also delivered official statements.
The Conference on Disarmament is the world's lone forum for negotiating arms control and disarmament treaties. Past successes include the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and the Comprehensive nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). However, the CD, has been unable to agree on a program of work for the past 8 years, a disagreement that has blocked all substantive progress on important issues such as fissile materials, the weaponization of outer space, nuclear disarmament and more.
Dutch Ambassador Chris Sanders, in his role as Rotating President of the CD, warned the 66-member body that "if the present problems persist, the CD might well lose its relevance, and follow in the footsteps of the UNDC," a reference to the United Nations Disarmament Commission, which has also failed to reach agreement during its last substantive session. Agreement on an agenda for the next UNDC meeting has also yet to be reached.
Ambassador Sanders pledged "to be pragmatic, and make an effort to get the CD back to work," he said, clarifying, "Real work."
Secretary-General Kofi Annan affirmed the "critical" role of disarmament in "conflict prevention, peace-building and the realization of the Millennium Development Goals." He called upon all CD Members "to seriously consider" the recommendations of the High-Level Panel on Threats, Challenges, and Change, which urged the CD to "move without further delay to negotiate a verifiable fissile material cut-off treaty that, on a designated schedule, ends the production of highly enriched uranium for non-weapon as well as weapons purposes."
You can read the High-Level Panel report in its entirety, as well as a brief RCW analysis of the report on our website.
Russia's Ambassador Leonid Skotnikov noted his country's recent ratification of the Amended Protocol II of the Certain Conventional Weapons convention, showing their "full commitment to the solution of the 'landmine' problem." Russia views the Protocol as "an optimal solution" that "unites both supporters of an immediate ban...and those who advocate a step-by-step approach."
Ambassador Elizabeth Astete discussed some of Peru's commitments to disarmament, such as their membership in the Organization on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America (OPANAL), ratification of the CTBT and other regional efforts. Ambassador Astete warned of decreasing support for the 13 Practical Steps, established in the Final Document of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, stressing that "(i)t is necessary to reinforce the international compromises on disarmament." She also implored the CD to demonstrate "flexibility" in their search for a balanced program of work, one which takes into account the "significant" changes to the international system while maintaining "the traditional themes ...of enormous relevance for the collective security" of all.
Ambassador Amina Mohamed of Kenya discussed the "resounding success" of the recent Nairobi Summit on a Mine Free World, which adopted "the Nairobi Plan of Action 2005-2009," which outlines commitments to universalization of the Ottawa Convention, the destruction of all stockpiled anti-personnel mines, assistance to mine victims, and more.
Ambassador Rivesseau of France urged the Conference to consider "the new menaces" that challenge international security and suggested that the Conference introduce the topic of terrorism into its discussions.
Algeria's Ambassador Idriss Jazaïry deplored the emergence of "new military doctrines" that work in conjunction with the notion of preventive war, presenting challenges to the international commmunity of unprecedented gravity. Algeria reaffirmed their support for theFinal Document of the First Special Session of the General Assembly, the A5 Agenda, the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and the 13 Practical Steps, which "regrettably...remained dead letter and no progress was recorded in this field."
As the CD met on the 60th anniversary of the liberation of the death camp at Auschwitz-Birkenau, both Poland's Ambassador Zdzislaw Rapacki as well as Germany's Ambassador Volker Heinsberg, gave brief interventions commemorating the horror of the Nazi death camps.
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Rhianna Tyson
Project Manager
Reaching Critical Will