CD discusses revitalisation efforts

Beatrice Fihn | Reaching Critical Will

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) met on Tuesday 20 August for the first time under the Irish Presidency. Statements were delivered by the Deputy Foreign Minister of Belarus, the incoming CD President, Italy, Japan, Spain, Netherlands, Switzerland, New Zealand, Canada, Pakistan, Sweden, Turkey, Russia, Egypt, Indonesia, Republic of Korea, Germany, India, Iran, United States, and Algeria.

Last week, the CD decided to create an informal working group that is tasked to develop a programme of work. Today, Ambassador Corr stated that the Co-Chair of the informal working group, Ambassador Gallegos of Ecuador “shall establish the Group’s timetable,” and hoped it would be possible to start this work “in the coming days.”

In addition to this working group, the CD President circulated an informal paper with other ideas about revitalizing the CD.

The paper touches upon previous proposals, such as longer presidential terms, longer duration of adopted programmes of work, a discussion around the consensus rule, expansion of membership, and enhanced interaction with civil society.

Many delegations welcomed the discussion. The delegations of Netherlands, Switzerland, New Zealand, Canada, Sweden, and Spain expressed support for several of the ideas in the working paper, in particular longer presidencies and increased civil society participation. Several delegations challenged the way the consensus rule had been used in the past 16 years. The Spanish delegation noted that while the rule might not be the cause of the paralysis, it did act as an obstruction and was regarded as a straightjacket by several members.

Pakistan, Russia, Iran, India, Algeria, and the United States raised concerns about any attempts to re-interpret the consensus rule, and many of these delegations highlighted that the CD has negotiated treaties in the past under these rules. The US representative noted that while some smaller procedural issues might not need consensus, the consensus rule should remain firmly in place. Pakistan stated it did not “understand why the present situation in the CD is causing so much discomfort” and suggested that substantive discussions should be held until members were ready to conclude treaties. Turkey expressed reluctance about expansion of membership.

CD President, Ambassador Corr of Ireland outlined procedural matters and timetable relating to the draft annual report of the Conference on Disarmament, which would be transmitted to the General Assembly. He noted that the first draft would be released on Thursday 22 August.

Next plenary meeting

The next plenary meeting will be held on Tuesday 27 August.