Still disagreements on the high-level meeting and the CD deadlock
Beatrice Fihn | Reaching Critical Will of WILPF
The Conference on Disarmament (CD) met on 31 August for the first meeting under Cameroon’s presidency. Mr. Henri Eyebe Ayissi, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Cameroon, delivered a statement and conveyed his president’s strong interest for a successful conclusion of the 2010 session. The Conference also heard statements from Mr. Rezlan Ishar Jenie, Deputy Minister for Multilateral Affairs of Indonesia, CD President Ambassador Anatole Fabien-Marie Nkou of Cameroon, and continued the debate concerning the 24 September high-level meeting and the CD stalemate with comments from representatives of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Pakistan,Sweden, South Africa, Austria, Croatia, United Kingdom, United States, Republic of Korea, Algeria, Belarus, Bangladesh, Mexico, Pakistan, India, and the Secretary-General of the CD, Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze.
Highlights
The President of the CD, Ambassador Nkou of Cameroon, reminded delegations of the remaining four tasks of the third session: to continue consultations on a programme of work, to carry out preparations for the upcoming high-level meeting on 24 September, to consolidate the 7 reports from the coordinators of the informal meetings on all agenda items, and to finalize the draft annual report.
CD President Nkou circulated a first draft of the annual report for the general assembly and stated that considerations of it would begin early next week.
Indonesia and Algeria argued for the CD to discuss the high-level meeting in a plenary meeting, rather than in an informal meeting as had been proposed by other delegations.
Indonesia, Austria, Sweden, South Africa, Croatia, Algeria, and Belarus highlighted the positive contribution of civil society and called for greater participation of NGOs in the CD’s work.
Croatia proposed the dismantlement of the regional groups in the CD, arguing that it could make the proceedings more efficient.
Pakistan reiterated its position against starting negotiations of an FMCT, while stating that its delegation remained fully prepared to make progress on other issues on the agenda.
Sweden, the United Kingdom, and the United States responded to some of the comments made by Pakistan’s delegation.
High-level meeting
Almost all speakers in today’s plenary meeting endorsed the idea of the high-level meeting in New York. However, when the Secretary-General of the CD, Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, expressed that he wanted to convey to the UN Secretary-General the unanimous support for the high-level meeting from the CD, the representative from Pakistan argued that there was no need to convey such a message and that it would be preferred if countries could express their own views separately on this matter.
When the Secretariat circulated a document of practical information concerning the meeting, it became clear that some differences and unclear issues still remain. The incoming CD President, Ambassador Nkou of Cameroon, explained that he still needed to consult delegations on the format of a preparatory meeting in the CD for the high-level summit in New York on the 24 September. While regional groups had expressed different views on the preferred format, he expressed hope that an agreement could be reached by the end of this week. The Deputy Minister of External Affairs of Indonesia supported the idea of continuing the debate in a plenary meeting, as did Ambassador Jazaïry of Algeria, who argued that a formal discussion would be preferred since it would allow for appropriate follow-up and it would be easier to identify an outcome of the discussions.
As one of the six presidents of 2010, Ambassador Khvostov from Belarus highlighted a number of points that he thought the statement of the CD President to the high-level meeting should include. He argued that the presidential statement should be balanced and based on the report of the CD to the General Assembly. Mr. Ordzhonikidze noted that the President of Cameroon would join the high-level meeting and deliver the statement as President of the CD.
Ambassador Jazaïry of Algeria voiced concerns over the limit of one accompanying member to the Minister at the meeting, and asked the Secretariat for some flexibility on this issue. Ambassador Jazaïry also commented that that while there are many different views on the potential outcome of this meeting, he was pleased to hear many delegations echo the idea of calling for a fourth special session on disarmament (SSOD IV). Ambassador Khvostov of Belarus agreed that an SSOD IV should be considered at the high-level meeting, as did the Indonesian delegation, which expressed hope that the high-level meeting would generate enough support to convene such meeting.
Agreeing that an SSOD IV would aid disarmament machinery better than a high-level meeting, Pakistan's Ambassador Akram listed a series of additional items he considers "key considerations" for the high-level meeting to be based on. These items include: that the CD should ensure the security of all states; that all agenda items should be treated equally; that lack of progress on one issue should not hold back all of the others; that the impasse in the CD is not due to its rules of procedures but the security concerns of states, which need to be addressed; that any attempt to change the CD's rules of procedure would "gravely harm the global disarmament machinery".
The agenda items and the deadlock
In a long statement, Ambassador Akram of Pakistan evaluated the developments during the 2010 session of the CD and provided member states with additional arguments for his delegation’s position on a programme of work. He outlined three main reasons for the impasse: that words from certain states had not been translated into deeds; the pursuit of discriminatory policies by some states in the field of nuclear collaboration; and the refusal of some states to take into account the security interests of all states on the basis of undiminished and equal security for all. “It’s the combination of these three negative factors that has prevented the adoption of a programme of work in the CD”, he stated, and continued by arguing, “it is not through choice but necessity that Pakistan is opposed to negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT).” However, Ambassador Akram highlighted that Pakistan remained fully prepared to make progress on all the other issues on the agenda of the CD, as “the CD should not be kept hostage to the FMCT issue.”
In his farewell speech to the CD, Ambassador Hellgren from Sweden argued that when it comes to protecting national security interests in treaty negotiations there is a “triple veto”: blocking the start of negotiations, blocking the approval of any treaty text, and choosing to not sign and ratify the adopted treaty. Ambassador Hellgren urged those that block the adoption of a programme of work in the CD to consider not exercising the first veto opportunity, since he argued that national security interests could be protected by the other two.
Ambassador Duncan from the UK responded to the comments of Pakistan’s ambassador by arguing that his delegation did not recognize the descriptions of the situations set out in that statement. He regretted that the consensus from last year had disappeared and argued the CD had moved backwards in the last 20 months. Ambassador Kennedy from the United States argued that her country’s words actually had been accompanied by deeds. Ambassador Kennedy argued that she believes that every state can negotiate a FMCT on the basis of undiminished security.
Civil society
Ambassador Strohal of Austria reminded delegations of action 19 from the outcome document of the NPT 2010 Review Conference, where states acknowledged the importance of civil society in disarmament fora. He stated that the Austrian delegation would welcome an informal discussion in the CD on the issue of civil society. The delegations of Sweden, South Africa, Indonesia, Croatia, Algeria, and Belarus also highlighted the importance of civil society. Ambassador Jazaïry of Algeria noted the inconsistency in positions of some states between their policies in the Human Rights Council and in the CD. He argued that transparency is a policy for multilateralism and should equally apply to both human rights and disarmament. Ambassador Khvostov of Belarus suggested that by giving NGOs permanent observer status, the efficiency of the CD could be enhanced and its accountability improved.
Notes from the gallery
As the third and final session of this year quickly moves forward, it is apparent that delegations disagree on more than just the programme of work. On almost all issues that delegations raised in discussion today—details concerning the high-level meeting, negotiations on a FMCT, increased participation of civil society, or the need for an SSOD IV—delegations have a range of views. However, there is one thing that all delegations can agree upon: that the CD is facing a serious challenge. As Ambassador Hellgren said in his farewell statement, “The situation in the CD has, in my view, reached a breaking point. Something will have to give.”
As impatience is growing, delegations must consider the consequences of the current situation. Will continued stalemate, heightened tensions, and increased frustrations perhaps be more harmful to national, regional, and global security than a programme of work or a parallel process? All members of the CD must consider the potential consequences of another year of deadlock and if such potential consequences would be in anyone’s interest. We urge delegations to use the high-level meeting and the First Committee of the General Assembly as efficiently as possible in order to find creative solutions for moving forward in ways that lead to concrete nuclear disarmament, not just incremental non-proliferation steps.
Reaching Critical Will would also like to take this opportunity to bid farewell to Ambassador Magnus Hellgren of Sweden. We are grateful for his encouraging words and for his continued support for civil society and wish him all the best in the future.
Next meeting
The next plenary meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 7 September at 10:00 AM.