FRANCE'S PACIFIC NUCLEAR TESTING `MUST STOP NOW', MARSHALL ISLANDS TELLS FIRST COMMITTEE
Press Release
GA/DIS/3025
FRANCE'S PACIFIC NUCLEAR TESTING `MUST STOP NOW', MARSHALL ISLANDS TELLS FIRST COMMITTEE
19951018 Says Tests Violate Treaties, Environment, Human Rights; France States Health, Environment, Stability Concerns Unfounded.Nuclear testing by France in Mururoa atoll posed a serious human and environmental threat in the Pacific and must be stopped, the representative of the Marshall Islands told the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) this afternoon. "The tests are violating treaties, they are violating our environment, and they are violating our human rights", he said. "The tests must stop. They must stop now."
Addressing the Committee as it continued its general disarmament debate, the Marshall Islands' representative said each time an underground blast occurred at Mururoa atoll, a bubble the size of the United Nations Plaza was created in the basalt rock and more than 100 such tests had created a large, unstable, honeycomb structure underground. "One more jolt might be all that is needed to collapse the entire atoll, unleashing a torrent of pent-up radiation on the Pacific Islands and our neighbours on the Pacific rim." If the safety of those tests could be assured, why weren't they being carried out in France? he asked.
Speaking in exercise of the right of reply, the representative of France said the arguments used against nuclear tests were unfounded and France's current programme did not violate its commitments. The concerns expressed about health, environment and the stability of the Mururoa atoll were not based on any observable facts. France attached great importance to protecting the well-being of the French Polynesians, as they were citizens of France.
Statements were also made by the representatives of Cote d'Ivoire, Kazakstan, Mongolia, Norway, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, Kenya and Indonesia who addressed a range of disarmament concerns, including the need for a comprehensive test-ban treaty.
The Committee will meet again at 3 p.m. Thursday, 19 October, to continue its general debate.
Committee Work Programme
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) met this morning to continue its general exchange of views on a wide range of disarmament initiatives and a number of international disarmament agreements. Those include the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapons Tests in Outer Space and Under Water (partial test-ban Treaty), the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons (chemical weapons Convention), and the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (biological weapons Convention).
Other agreements under discussion include the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed to Be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects (Convention on indiscriminate conventional weapons), the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco), the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga), and the Treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Seabed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof (Seabed Treaty).
Representatives were also likely to discuss the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the States parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, negotiations aimed at concluding a comprehensive nuclear-test ban (CTBT), the Register of Conventional Arms, and the role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in the international non-proliferation regime. (For background, see Press Release GA/DIS/3020 of 11 October.)
Statements
ERIC N'DRY (Cote d'Ivoire) said tangible progress in the field of disarmament could be achieved. The extension of the NPT was a major achievement, although its objective could only be achieved through universal ratification. Regional denuclearization mechanisms were needed and he welcomed into force the Treaty of Tlatelolco. The final text for a nuclear- weapon-free zone in Africa would be signed in the near future, an indication that Africa was on the right path.
A moratorium on the production of land-mines was only a transitory measure, he said. Approximately 100 million land-mines were already in existence in Africa. To address that danger, a long-term, international settlement was required prohibiting their production and transfer. On the issue of regional disarmament, he said the United Nations new strategy on disarmament that included regional efforts must take transparency into account. Africa south of the Sahara and the West African subregion were
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experiencing an influx of small illegal arms, in urban and rural areas, which had promoted large-scale banditry and a sense among the population that it needed to defend itself.
AKMARAL KH. ARYSTANBEKOVA (Kazakstan) said that with independence, her country had rejected its nuclear inheritance. During 45 years of testing and 459 nuclear test explosions, more than 500,000 Kazakstani people had been subjected to radiation. That had affected their lives and health, as well as the country's ecological balance. In December 1993, Kazakstan ratified the NPT.
She urged the prompt conclusion of negotiations on a comprehensive nuclear test ban. The President of Kazakstan had recommended the emplacement of three seismic stations in the country for monitoring such a ban. Security guarantees to non-nuclear States should have a mandatory legal force through an international document. A protocol on security guarantees might be adopted as an integral part of such a treaty. Also, negotiations must begin on halting the production of fissile material for weapons purposes.
The place of conventional armed forces in strengthening peace and stability was a matter of particular importance, she said. Her country reported to the Register of Conventional Arms and was preparing to ratify the chemical weapons Convention. Her country was also hoping to convene a meeting on confidence-building measures in Asia.
FHIRCHINJAV UMJAV (Mongolia) said revamping collective notions of peace and development were essential. Regarding areas of progress, he cited a number of developments that indicated progress, including the extension of the NPT and efforts towards a ban of fissile material for nuclear weapons. Both of these were significant contributions to nuclear disarmament. The anticipated completion of the comprehensive test-ban treaty was also significant. However, many substantive issues, such as on-site inspection, needed to be resolved before the treaty could be concluded.
Nuclear-weapon States should exercise restraint on nuclear testing, he said. Such tests impeded the ongoing negotiations on the comprehensive test- ban treaty. Further steps were needed to allay the concerns of non-nuclear weapon States, which deserved nothing less than an internationally negotiated, legally binding document containing such assurances. He favoured early entry into force of the chemical weapons Convention, and the establishment of verification measures for the biological weapons Convention.
On other issues, he said he hoped for international restrictions on land-mines and international cooperation in their clearance, and expressed deep regret that regional centres were threatened, particularly the centre in Kathmandu, at a time when regional efforts were being given particular emphasis.
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EPSEN RONNEBERG (Marshall Islands) said the legacy of nuclear testing in the Marshall Islands was painful. For example, in 1954 the United Nations Secretary-General had even collaborated with United States authorities in suppressing a petition from the Marshall Islands requesting that the United Nations put a halt to nuclear tests. Children in the Marshall Islands had been born faceless, with no bones, or with missing or extra limbs, while irreparable damage had been wreaked upon their mothers' reproductive health.
He said the former administering Authority of the Marshall Islands had taken some steps to rectify the problems, and there was some hope for the safe resettlement of Rongelap. There had also been international recognition of those problems by such bodies as the NPT Conference, the Fourth World Conference on Women, and the South Pacific Forum.
However, "as if our own four decades of painful experience with the dreadful business of nuclear testing is not enough, there appeared once again this year in our beautiful Pacific the trauma of yet a further series of nuclear testing, intended to continue until May next year", he said. Referring to the French resumption of testing at Mururoa atoll, he said he could not accept the "weak argument" that the current tests were safe for his country's Pacific neighbours and friends.
Each time one of those underground blasts occurred, a massive bubble, about the size of the entire United Nations Plaza, was created in the basalt rock, he said. There had been more than 100 such tests at Mururoa, resulting in the creation of a large honeycomb structure underground -- a very unstable arrangement. "One more jolt might be all that is needed to collapse the entire atoll, unleashing a torrent of pent-up radiation on the Pacific Islands and our neighbours on the Pacific rim", he said. He urged the French authorities to carry out immediately the strictest environmental impact assessment before continuing their tests.
"It is simply incomprehensible to us that this great nation of culture, science and fine arts, that this nation could visit this abomination upon us in the Pacific", he said. Although protests had been made to the French authorities, the first tests went ahead anyway. "The tests are violating treaties, they are violating our environment, and they are violating our human rights", he said. "The tests must stop. They must stop now." The Marshall Islands would join with other like-minded countries in wholeheartedly condemning the current series of nuclear tests by France and China.
FINN FOSTERVALL (Norway) said the last 50 years was marked by substantial progress, but today the picture was more complex. Developments in the Middle East, Bosnia and the former Soviet Union and the dismantling of nuclear and chemical weapons would have a strong impact on issues of disarmament.
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He welcomed the commitments of France, the United Kingdom and the United States to a true "zero-yield" ban and a similar view by all nuclear-weapon States would be an important contribution. Continued or resumed nuclear testing by any country would complicate negotiations and make adherence to a Comprehensive test-ban treaty more difficult. He strongly deplored the French and Chinese nuclear tests, especially in light of the commitment at the NPT to exercise utmost restraint in future nuclear testing. Those tests were a setback and posed a risk to human health and the environment.
He called for a ban on the production of fissile material for nuclear purposes and expressed particular concern about its release into insecure environments. He further called for the establishment of a regime -- with transparency measures -- to handle the problem, stressing the need for enhanced transparency of nuclear weapon arsenals. Regarding verification of a test-ban treaty, he called for funding of an international verification system with an equitable distribution of costs. In addition, citing the importance of a chemical weapons Convention, he called on all parties to ratify the convention without delay, in particular the United States and the Russian Federation, the two States with the largest amount of chemical weapons.
BERNARD GOONETILLEKE (Sri Lanka) said that, in the aftermath of the NPT Review Conference, the nuclear-weapon States had to honour their commitments and chart a course for the total elimination of nuclear weapons within the shortest time. While welcoming progress in the Conference on Disarmament towards conclusion of a comprehensive test-ban treaty, he was disappointed by the lack of consensus on such basic issues as scope. There was no room for peaceful nuclear explosions under such a ban. He appreciated the offer given by the United States, and followed by France and the United Kingdom, for a true, zero-yield ban. He urged China and the Russian Federation to follow suit.
Sri Lanka appreciated the moratoriums on testing declared by three of the five nuclear-weapon States, he said. The tests carried out by the remaining two States following the decision to indefinitely extend the NPT did not enhance the climate of confidence desirable for the test-ban negotiations. His country regretted the impasse in the Conference on Disarmament on the banning of fissionable materials for weapons purposes, negative security assurance to non-nuclear-weapon States and outer space questions. An ad hoc committee or negotiating mechanism on nuclear disarmament should be established.
The international community had a special responsibility to curb the illicit transfers of conventional weapons, he said. Terrorism had emerged as a principal public enemy, often transcending national boundaries and threatening to tear apart the very fabric of civil society. The Committee must take remedial measures before an increasing number of vulnerable States fell victim to the illegal arms trade.
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New opportunities existed for enhancing peace and security in the Indian Ocean region, he said. The great Power rivalry was a thing of the past and had been replaced by a climate of confidence. While he supported several new initiatives, he considered the Ad Hoc Committee on the Indian Ocean to be the primary vehicle for taking practical measures to ensure peace, security and stability in the region. The permanent members of the Security Council and the major maritime users of the Ocean should take an active part in the Ad Hoc Committee's work.
He expressed regret at the declining financial support for the Untied Nations regional centres for peace and development in Africa, Asia, and Latin America and the Caribbean. "Sri Lanka wishes to plead with the more affluent countries in the Asia-Pacific region not to permit the Kathmandu Centre to be closed down for want of financial resources," he said.
WIN MRA (Myanmar) said the decision of the NPT Review Conference was momentous, obligating nuclear-weapon States to totally eliminate nuclear weapons. However, the nuclear-weapon States retained their cold war attitudes with regard to nuclear weapons. Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation were inseparable, like two sides of the same coin. The only effective way to remove the nuclear threat was the total elimination of nuclear weapons. To that end, he welcomed the efforts of the Russian Federation and the United States on the treaties on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START), and the unilateral measures taken by some in the field of arms control. However, all nuclear-weapon States must be involved in disarmament.
A comprehensive test-ban treaty was the top priority, he said. It was imperative that those negotiations be concluded in 1996. An ad hoc committee on such a test ban should be established. The recent acceptance by some nuclear-weapon States of a true zero-yield option paved the way for consensus on the scope of the treaty. Also, security assurances for non-nuclear-weapon States were needed, which could take the form of an international, legally binding instrument.
He reviewed the activities of the Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Asia and the Pacific, and said that it had an excellent track record in disseminating information and providing a forum for an exchange of views. It would be inappropriate during an era in which regional efforts were being emphasized, to close the Centre. Budget cuts were an option, but there were compelling reasons for preserving the Centre.
JOHN FREDRICK ONYANGO (Kenya) said the States parties to the NPT should honour their commitments and security assurances to non-nuclear-weapon States by translating them into legally binding instruments. An end to all nuclear testing was an essential step towards preventing the striving for the qualitative expansion of nuclear arsenals and further proliferation. The
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decision by some nuclear States to resume testing was, therefore, a matter of concern. He called for a strict moratorium on nuclear testing pending the conclusion of a comprehensive test-ban treaty.
Despite the noble intentions of the Charter and the end of the cold war, conflicts abounded, he said. Those conflicts undermined international peace and security and spilled over into neighbouring countries, destabilizing them and adversely affecting socio-economic development. Resources devoted to the military would be better used for social and economic development. He, therefore, supported all proposals for strengthening the United Nations role in the verification of multilateral disarmament agreements.
In the interest of greater openness and transparency, he said he supported expanding the range of weapons included in the Register of Conventional Arms. Also, he was concerned by the failure to reach agreement on banning anti-personnel land-mines at the recent Review Conference of the Convention on indiscriminate conventional weapons. Regional organizations and arrangements had an important role in maintaining international peace and security and their contributions should be targeted towards preventive diplomacy and peacemaking. Peace-keeping and peace enforcement should remain primarily the responsibility of the United Nations. He supported the Declaration on the Denuclearization of Africa and welcomed the results so far in negotiating a treaty for a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Africa.
ISSLAMET POERNOMO (Indonesia) reviewed 50 years of disarmament initiatives and said he hoped the post-cold war era would lead to comprehensive strategies of arms reduction and disarmament and, eventually, the total elimination of nuclear weapons. He favoured banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons, assurances for non-nuclear States and the conclusion of a comprehensive test-ban treaty, a matter of the highest priority.
He said proliferation and all nuclear tests, no matter how small, must be ended soon after entry into force of a Comprehensive test-ban treaty. Indonesia had been dismayed by the positions of the nuclear Powers at the Review Conference of the NPT, in which critical components of the non- proliferation regime were marginalized in the decisions adopted. For example, the decision lacked a time frame, and there was no provision for right of non- nuclear States for credible, unconditional and legally binding security assurances. The indefinite extension of the NPT deprived the international community of a sense of urgency. Furthermore, the final declaration failed to reflect the fundamental differences between "the nuclear haves and the have nots".
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He said he hoped the Regional Centre for Peace and Disarmament in Kathmandu would continue its work. It gave practical expression to the concept of a regional approach to both nuclear and conventional disarmament and could offer a fresh approach to those issues.
Right of Reply
JOELLE BOURGOIS (France), said the question of nuclear tests had been addressed again today. For a country like hers, whose defense was based on nuclear weapons, among other things, and whose arsenal was not large and was limited to a level of strict sufficiency, the question of testing was critical. France had taken a difficult decision to stop testing after its current series was completed. Her Government had decided that those tests would be limited in number and duration and also supported a "zero-yield option" -- that is, a total ban -- on nuclear tests.
The arguments used against nuclear tests were unfounded, she said. France's current programme did not violate its commitments. The concerns about health, environment and the stability of the Mururoa atoll were not based on any observable facts. France attached great importance to protecting the well-being of the French Polynesians, as they were citizens of France. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) would conduct an impartial assessment at the end of the present programme. However, successive missions over the past 15 years had all revealed the harmlessness of France's tests.
Citing a fear that had been expressed regarding the stability of the atoll, she said precautions had been taken to guarantee the stability of the volcanic underground rock where the French tests were taking place.
Mr. RONNEBERG (Marshall Islands) said it was ironic that, on the fiftieth anniversary of the end of the Second World War, atomic explosions larger than those at Hiroshima and Nagasaki had been set off in the Pacific region. The fact that those tests were not carried out in metropolitan Europe demonstrated concern about their safety.
He said there had been a "continuous slinging of words" by one permanent member of the Security Council in the face of concerns expressed by more than a dozen States. The issue at heart, was why tests had to be done at all. There was no justification in today's changing geopolitical status quo for such tests. Just who was the enemy posing the threat which triggered the need for such tests? If the safety of those tests could be assured, why weren't they being carried out in France? Were the lives of Pacific islanders worth less than those of other people?
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"We express extreme outrage at the these tests done in our region", he said. The tests violated treaties and protocols to which France was a party. Since 1945, over 2,000 tests had been carried out. No further testing was needed. There was no reason for those obscene weapons. The global implications were serious. The concerns of the Pacific countries must be addressed.
Ms. BOURGOIS (France) said the statement just made added nothing to the debate. She referred him to her country's previous statements.
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