Back to business as usual

Mia Gandenberger | Reaching Critical Will
28 January 2014

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) met on Tuesday, 28 January to continue discussions on how to end the 17 year-long deadlock. The delegations of Mongolia, New Zealand, Brazil, Ukraine, Switzerland, Australia, Spain, and Finland delivered statements.

• The current CD President, Ambassador Eviatar Manor of Israel, reported on his consultations on a programme of work. He noted that if no consensus can be achieved, he will focus on re-establishing the Informal Working Group (IWG) from 2013.
• In the absence of a programme of work, the six CD presidents of 2014 are working on creating a structured schedule of activities for this year’s session.
• Mongolia, Ukraine, Switzerland, Spain and Finland voiced support for establishing the IWG in 2014. Additionally, Switzerland suggested creating a structured dialogue on issues on the CD agenda as well as revitalization of the CD.
• The upcoming first meeting of the Group of Governmental Experts (GGE) on a Fissile Material Cutoff Treaty (FMCT) was welcomed by New Zealand, Brazil, Switzerland, Australia and Spain.
• New Zealand and Switzerland reminded states that all achievements and developments on disarmament in 2013 occurred outside the CD, such as the Arms Trade Treaty, the Open Ended Working Group, and the Humanitarian Discourse on nuclear disarmament. Both highlighted the importance of the upcoming Second Conference on the Humanitarian Impact of Nuclear Weapons in Nayarit, Mexico, on 13-14 February. 

Next plenary meeting

The next plenary meeting will be held on Tuesday, 4 February 2014 at 10:00 in the Council Chamber.