Japan assumes the CD presidency

Viola Giuliano | Reaching Critical Will

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) met on Tuesday under the new Presidency of Ambassador Toshio Sano of Japan. Delegations from Colombia and South Africa took the floor to deliver statements. 

• The new CD President, Ambassador Toshio Sano noted that he intended to finalise the ‘dual track approach’ which includes agreeing on a Schedule of Activities by the end of the session and continue work in the informal working group on a programme of work. He asked the Group of 21 and Western group to propose names of coordinators for the Schedule of Activities. 
• Colombia stressed that their patience experiencing with the deadlock in the disarmament machinery had worn thin, while South Africa argued that it is undermining the credibility and raises questions about relevance of the CD. Both speakers welcomed the re-establishment of the Informal Working Group (IWG).
• Ambassador Minty of South Africa welcomed the shift in the discourse from a national security focus to the humanitarian consequences of nuclear detonations, and called for humanitarian considerations to lie at the core of deliberations, decisions and actions on nuclear weapons. He argued that the conferences in Oslo and Nayarit, as well as the forthcoming in Vienna, strengthen the work of the multilateral fora as mandated by the UN General Assembly by demonstrating what is indeed possible in nuclear disarmament.
• South Africa also stated its renewed support for the commencement of negotiations on a treaty banning fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, but addressed its skepticism for a simple ‘cut-off’ treaty that would only restrict future production. He argued that much more was needed for the treaty to fulfill both nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation objectives.

Next plenary session will be held on Tuesday 25 March at 10am in the Council Chamber