DISARMAMENT COMMISSION HOLDS ORGANIZATIONAL SESSION

Press Release
DC/2544

DISARMAMENT COMMISSION HOLDS ORGANIZATIONAL SESSION

The Disarmament Commission this morning, still unable to achieve consensus, decided to allow more time for informal consultations under the guidance of Chairman Wolfgang Hoffman (Germany) to reach agreement on a third specific item for the provisional agenda of its 1996 substantive session, which is being held from 22 April to 7 May.

General agreement had been reached in the previous two meetings of the extended organizational session (11 December 1995 and 13 March 1996) that a third item would be a nuclear issue. Agreement had also been reached on two other items -- international arms transfers, with particular reference to General Assembly resolution 46/36 H of 6 December 1991, and an exchange of views on the proposed fourth special session of the Assembly devoted to disarmament.

The representative of Colombia, on behalf of the States of the Non- Aligned Movement, indicated that general support had been given for discussion of guidelines and principles of establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones, but indicated that consensus had not been achieved.

The representative of India said that his Government could not accept that choice of that agenda item even under the "consensus minus one" principle, as proposed by the Chairman. India would be able to support a number of other issues which had been put forward in informal consultations among the countries of the Non-Aligned Movement.

Discussion this morning focused on the difficulty of achieving agreement on the nuclear issue in the limited time available before the beginning of the substantive session. The representative of Egypt mentioned a proposal from the Non-Aligned consultations for an item entitled "non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in all its aspects including regional arrangements, such as nuclear-weapon-free zones". He acknowledged there had been some negative reaction and Italy, on behalf of the European Union, expressed opposition to that choice of nuclear issue.

Disarmament Commission - 2 - Press Release DC/2544 199th Meeting (AM) 19 April 1996

The Chairman scheduled the consultations on the agenda item for this afternoon in the hope of reaching agreement to be formally approved at the beginning of the substantive session on Monday 22 April.

Also this morning Colombia was elected Vice-Chairman. Two more Vice- Chairmen were still to be chosen from the African Group of States and one from the Latin American and Caribbean Group.

The Chairman also announced that Gheorghe Chirila (Romania) would chair working group I, on international arms transfers, and that Luvsangiin Erdenechuluum (Mongolia) would chair working group III, on the fourth special session of the Assembly on disarmament. A chairman was still to be chosen from the Eastern European States for working group II, on the nuclear issue.

At its previous two organizational meetings the Commission elected Mr. Hoffman as its Chairman; representatives of Pakistan, Poland, Ukraine, Finland as Vice-Chairmen; and Rajab Sukayri (Jordan) as Rapporteur.

In addition, the Commission agreed on its general programme of work, which called for a general exchange of views in the morning and afternoon meetings on 22 April to conclude on the morning of 23 April. Other plenary meetings would be held on the morning of 30 April and on 7 May.

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