5 June 2007

The new Swedish President of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) announced her intention to attempt one last effort to find a way out of the delicate situation in which the CD finds itself. Following up on her announcement in last week's plenary, CD President Ambassador Elisabet Borsiin Bonnier of Sweden will endeavor to create a Presidential Statement complementary to the P6 (L.1) proposal. The Presidential Statement will aim to provide clarifications and alleviate concerns. "Whether such an approach would realistically open up a way out, or not, depends on the real nature of our problems," Ambassador Bonnier stated. "If there is a genuine readiness to begin serious work along the lines proposed in L.1, then a clarifying complementary Presidential Statement might very well be helpful. If, however, the heart of the problem lies in serious political or military reluctance to embark on the kind of work outlined in the L.1, then no Presidential Statement, however cleverly crafted, will take us out of our present dead-lock."

Ambassador Bonnier also provided delegates with a schedule of meetings for the week. Today and tomorrow, Ambassador Bonnier will be available for consultations with all member states. After discussions with the P6, she will circulate a draft of the Presidential Statement by Thursday morning. On Thursday afternoon and Friday morning, informal consultations with all delegates will be held to discuss reactions to the Presidential Statement. On Monday, the usual weekly P6 meetings will take place and results will be announced at the next plenary meeting on Tuesday, June 12th at 10:00am.

Iran was the only speaker at this morning's plenary. In what seemed like a move to stall for time, Iran explained that there were "numerous procedural as well as substantive problems" with the P6 (L.1) proposal. Iran reiterated that "the four core issues identified earlier by the CD have equal value and they have to be subject to an equal treatment. In [the] view of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Nuclear Disarmament and NSA are the highest priority to be negotiated in the CD." Iran called for the establishment of Ad Hoc Committees to begin negotiations on nuclear disarmament and a universal, unconditional, and legally-binding instrument on security assurances to non-nuclear weapon states. With regard to a Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty, Iran again called for an internationally and effectively verifiable, comprehensive and non-discriminatory Treaty that would cover existing and present stockpiles, within the framework of the Shannon mandate. "We want the P6 proposal to include these issues," Iran said.

While Iran concluded its remarks with an optimistic statement about its willingness to participate in negotiations to improve L.1, giving the appearance of seeking compromise while stalling for time does not help the CD advance. With only 11 weeks remaining, the CD must reach agreement on a plan for work for the rest of the year. The L.1 proposal is not formulated with a view to conclusions. National security concerns will still have to be addressed even if agreement is reached on the proposal and any work done in the remainder of the CD this year will have to be renewed in January 2008. Given the extremely precarious state of the CD, it is time to put aside concerns and requests for clarifications and reach a general agreement on the L.1 proposal. Hopefully, delegations will seize the opportunity provided to them by the Presidential Statement and agree to move the CD forward with the L.1 proposal and accompanying statement.

- Katherine Harrison, Disarmament Intern, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

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