More talk about the NPT than the CD

Beatrice Fihn and Ray Acheson | Reaching Critical Will of WILPF

On Tuesday afternoon, the deputy foreign minister of Italy, Mr. Vincenzo Scotti, addressed the Conference on Disarmament (CD). The CD also heard a statement by Ambassador Faysal Hamoui of the Syrian Arab Republic on a nuclear weapon free zone in the Middle East and on the CD’s programme of work. The CD President, Ambassador Abdul Hannan of Bangladesh, gave a short update on the status of informal consultations on a programme of work.

Highlights

The CD President announced that informal consultations needed to continue on a draft programme of work.

The deputy foreign minister of Italy laid out his government’s expectations for the NPT Review Conference in May and argued that the CD’s 2010 programme of work should be “in line” with last year’s programme, CD/1864.

The Syrian ambassador spoke about the importance of pursuing a nuclear weapon free zone in the Middle East and called upon the international community to urge all states in the region to join the NPT. He argued CD/1864 would need updating in order to be acceptable to all member states this year.

Programme of work
The CD President made a brief announcement about the informal consultations on a programme of work for the 2010 session. He stated that more time was needed and that the informal consultations would continue Thursday.

The Italian deputy foreign minister expressed hope for an adoption by the CD of a programme of work based on CD/1864 and argued that details related to the mandate for a fissile material (cut-off) treaty should be dealt with during the course of negotiations. In contrast, the Syrian ambassador argued that CD/1864 does not address the concerns of all CD members, since it does not give a clear answer to the issues of verification mechanism and existing stocks related to a fissile materials (cut-off) treaty or give “concrete treatment” to the other three core issues. He said that simply cloning CD/1864 would not acquire consensus; however, he suggested the Conference “partially build” on that document and “introduce new necessary elements to it.”

The importance of nuclear disarmament
Last week, Ireland’s new permanent representative to the CD, Ambassador Gerard Corr, called for nuclear weapons to be “outlawed by the international community.” Arguing that as long as any state has nuclear weapons, others will want them, Ambassador Corr said, “the only way to deal with the threat to humanity posed by nuclear weapons ... is to eliminate them.”

Both the Irish ambassador last week and the Syrian ambassador today pointed to the potential use of nuclear weapons as a catastrophic possibility. Ambassador Corr emphasized his delegation’s commitment to “practical steps to prevent their further proliferation and avoid nuclear war.” He cited entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, negotiation of a fissile material (cut-off) treaty, and negative security assurances as some such steps. He also argued that the existence and experience of nuclear weapons is proof “of the difficulty of undoing developments in the creation and deployment of weapons,” which provides a strong argument “for the adoption of a preventative approach where possible,” such as in the case of preventing an arms race in outer space. Ambassador Hamoui of the Syrian Arab Republic likewise highlighted the CD’s core issues as important for advancing the nuclear disarmament and global security agenda.

Expectations for the NPT Review Conference
Italy’s Deputy Foreign Minister Scotti argued that the outcome of the NPT Review Conference in May must include an adequate reflection of such momentum. He called for an outcome that sets “realistic goals of equal priority” for each of the “three pillars” of the Treaty and highlighted three complex issues that need “new ideas and initiatives” to succeed: practical disarmament steps; objectives and mechanisms for dealing with the 1995 resolution on the Middle East; and strengthening the Treaty’s mechanism for dealing with issues such as compliance, withdrawal, and implementation. He also said that a successful Review Conference must include promotion of mutual confidence among all states parties, and in particular between Western countries and the members of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Ambassador Hamoui of the Syrian Arab Republic also pointed at the importance of adequately dealing with the issue of the Middle East, arguing that this region has not received enough international attention and that as long as nuclear weapons exist there, the risk of use or threat of use will remain present. Ambassador Hamoui reaffirmed his government’s commitment to the 1995 resolution on the Middle East and called on the international community to urge all states in the region to join the NPT.

Notes from the gallery
As the CD moves in to its fourth week without a draft proposal of work, Reaching Critical Will hopes that the informal consultations taking place later this week will prove to be successful. Many delegations in the CD have urged all member states to show the highest level of flexibility and strong commitments to breaking the impasse. We agree with such statements but would also like to emphasize that a programme of work has never been a goal in itself and it would not be an efficient use of the CD’s time to once again spend the two first sessions negotiating a programme of work, leaving very little time for resumption of substantive work. A programme of work must be adopted sooner rather than later. If the CD is not ready to do that, it must find other ways to start talking about substance. The scheduled thematic debates on all agenda issues that were introduced in the 2006 session of the CD could be seen as a useful exercise to repeat, giving the Conference a chance to move past procedural issues and start to find common ground on the different substantive issues. This would also encourage confidence-building among member states.

Reaching Critical Will also encourages engaged civil society members to take a more active part in influencing their national governments role in the CD, by providing them with information about the Conference, the substantive issues, and the importance of moving forward. Government contact information is available on the RCW website.

Next meeting
The next plenary meeting of the CD is scheduled for Thursday, 11 February at 10:00 AM.