FAILURE TO AGREE ON ARMS TRANSFER GUIDELINES WILL BE STEP BACKWARD, MALAYSIA TELLS DISARMAMENT COMMISSION

Press Release
DC/2549

FAILURE TO AGREE ON ARMS TRANSFER GUIDELINES WILL BE STEP BACKWARD, MALAYSIA TELLS DISARMAMENT COMMISSION

It would be a step backwards if no agreement could be reached at the current session on guidelines and principles for arms transfers, the representative of Malaysia said this afternoon, as the Disarmament Commission continued its general exchange of views.

A number of speakers expressed support for the control of the illicit weapons trade. Representatives of both China and Pakistan said that the Commission's recommendations to halt such trade should be without prejudice to the right of States to maintain armed forces for self-defence. The representative of the Russian Federation affirmed its willingness to regulate, on a non-discriminatory basis, the trade in arms.

The representative of Argentina suggested that financial loans from international organizations be considered to support countries attempting to control their arms transfers. He also urged regional adoption of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a measure designed to promote confidence among States in carrying out their weapons' transfers.

Responding to arguments that the Commission failed to produce results on a number of agenda items, the representative of Iran said that its universal membership, heavy workload and limited session, along with negative attitudes of certain States, could cripple the work. Several speakers cited the allocation of insufficient time and undue focus on organizational matters as two of the main reasons for the Commission's failure to achieve concrete progress.

Statements were also made this afternoon by the representatives of Mexico, Brazil and Belarus.

The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. Tuesday, 23 April, to conclude its general exchange of views.

Commission Work Programme

The Disarmament Commission met this afternoon to continue an exchange of views on its specific agenda items, namely international arms transfers, and the proposed fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament. Consensus on a third item -- a nuclear issue -- has not as yet been achieved. The Commission, since 1993, has limited its discussion to three specific items.

The General Assembly, at its 1995 session, through its First Committee (Disarmament), requested the Commission to expedite its consideration of the item on international arms transfers, with special emphasis on the adverse effects of the illicit transfer of arms and ammunition. It also requested the Commission to study and report on measures to curb the illicit transfer and use of conventional arms, bearing in mind concrete problems in various regions of the world.

Statements

EMILIO J. CARDENAS (Argentina) noted the signing of the Pelindaba Treaty, calling it a momentous decision. As a member of one of the four denuclearized zones of the earth, he offered congratulations to the States of the African region.

He said that the subject of illicit arms transfers was one of the great areas of concern for the entire international community, and one which led to regional and global instability. On 2 April 1996, Argentina became a full-fledged member of the Wassenaar Arrangement, a measure designed to promote confidence among States in carrying out their weapons' transfers. Clear-cut and consistent policy would contribute to regional security and stability. There was no excessive or destabilizing stockpiling of weapons in his country. He urged adoption of the Wassenaar Arrangement at the regional level.

He said there was a need to establish a rational limit on the amount that a State could spend on weapons as a direct function of its gross national product. He suggested that financial loans by international organizations be considered to support those countries attempting to control their arms transfers. The Commission was the appropriate forum for exploring such disarmament initiatives. He would support the Commission's efforts to arrive at a consensus text that would enshrine recommendations made over the last three years. To that end, he suggested the following: common, appropriate and effective criteria to manage arms transfers; the obligation of all States parties to ensure that use of such transfers was responsible and moderate; international monitoring measures; and international transfers in promoting confidence-building.

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He favoured nuclear-weapon free zones as the appropriate legal mechanism for strengthening peace at the global and regional levels. The Treaty of Tlatelelco was the key means in the struggle to combat weapons of mass destruction. Serious consideration should be given to the fourth special session on disarmament. The conclusion of the comprehensive test-ban treaty and a banning of the production of fissile material for use in weapons would be concrete steps towards disarmament.

IOURI ORLOV (Russian Federation) said that the process of disarmament had seen the signing of the START II Treaty and the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) extension. Existing systems of guaranteeing non-proliferation must be consolidated. The focus should be on the elaboration of a multi-lateral comprehensive test-ban treaty. He expressed satisfaction with the progress achieved at the Conference on Disarmament in that regard. The opportunity for achieving agreement should not be lost. The global regime for non-proliferation should be consolidated by concrete steps aimed at specific regions that gave rise to particular concerns.

He said Russia had done everything possible to address the problem of nuclear stockpiles in the former Soviet Union. The adoption by nuclear States of guarantees to non-nuclear States was of particular importance. While movement in the disarmament agenda gave rise to optimism, a number of problems remained. The urgency of regional and subregional disarmament measures was growing. They should be an integral part of preventive diplomacy. Effective regional disarmament measures should be a basic part of United Nations peacemaking and peace-building. The present stage in the disarmament process raised a whole set of problems which could be the basis of the work of a fourth special session of the Assembly. Such a session would require a detailed preparation. It should not just be an exchange of opinions to be improved upon, but instead should yield a long-term political return.

The question of illegal arms trade was becoming more and more urgent, he said. The danger of such uncontrolled trade was now widely recognized. Russia affirmed its willingness to regulate, on a non-discriminatory basis, the trade in arms. Such measures should be accompanied by efforts to contain terrorism. Combatting terrorism required a global response. Russia's policy for controlling the transfer of arms conformed to international agreements and standards. Regarding the proposed issue of nuclear-weapons-free zones, he said such zones were an important part of global disarmament policy. The Pelindaba Treaty was an important step forward. Russia supported the established of a zone on South-East Asia and in the Middle East.

KHALID AZIZ BABAR (Pakistan) said that the Commission had not been able, in nearly two decades, to prepare an action-oriented disarmament programme. It had failed to do so partly because of the lack of political will on the part of some key players, and partly because of attempts by certain countries to slow down the work of the Commission by unduly focusing on organizational matters.

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The insufficient time allocated for the work of the Commission had been one of the main reasons for the failure to achieve concrete progress. The limited time was a result of efforts in 1990 to enhance the functioning of the Commission.

He went on to say that it was unfortunate that this year the Commission had been mainly preoccupied with organizational issues. Agreement had not as yet been reached on a third agenda item, for reasons know to all. One possible solution to avoid such blockages in the future would be to prepare an indicative list of agenda items for consideration by the Commission over a period of five years. The creation of nuclear-weapon-free zones was considered an important component of the international community's efforts to promote nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. It was ironic that, while such zones had been established in Latin America, Africa and the South Pacific, there had been no progress on the establishment of a zone in South Asia.

Pakistan attached the highest priority to the eradication of the illicit arms transfers, he said. He strongly condemned terrorism in all its forms and manifestations. While expressing support for the banning of the illicit trade of weapons, he reiterated that the Commission's recommendations to halt such trade should be without prejudice to the right of States to maintain armed forces for self-defence, as clearly stipulated in Article 51 of the Charter. The Commission should also take into consideration the right of peoples struggling for the realization of their right of self-determination and liberation from foreign occupation.

GUSTAVO ALBIN (Mexico) said that for the second consecutive year, there was agreement to reduce the session to two weeks and a day. That reduction had repercussions and should in no way be a precedent for future meetings. He hoped the Commission would return to its original duration of three weeks and one day. There was an increasing difficulty in reaching agreement on agenda items. It was, therefore, indispensable to embark on an evaluation exercise to review how the Commission was functioning and arrive at measures to strengthen it.

For the third year, the Commission was taking up the item of international arms transfers, an increasingly topical item given the violence that was continuing in many countries of the world, he said. Vast numbers of weapons were being transferred virtually without controls. Such an activity posed a serious threat and caused great loss of life, particularly among civilians. Therefore, he favoured consideration of the issue of international transfers of conventional weapons from all angles.

Regarding the fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, he said careful assessment of the programmes, objectives and commitments in the area of disarmament agreed upon at the first special session of 1978 would be useful. One of the first objectives of a fourth special session could be the consolidation of a comprehensive disarmament programme, which would include a programme of nuclear disarmament aimed at bringing about their

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elimination within a given time-frame. The goals established at the first session in 1978 were still fully valid.

RAZALI ISMAIL (Malaysia) said the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons had focused the world's attention on the dangers of nuclear weapons. Malaysia had been one of the countries opposed to the indefinite extension of the treaty, which would be tantamount to giving carte blanche to the five nuclear Powers. His country had argued for a framework of limited time, but had eventually chosen not to oppose the decision of the majority. Unfortunately the worst fears were realized when certain nuclear Powers resumed nuclear testing, despite global condemnation. He noted the difficult negotiations at Geneva pertaining to a comprehensive test-ban treaty, where the outcome remained uncertain. Malaysia had joined a number of countries in submitting statements to the International Court of Justice in seeking an advisory opinion on whether the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons was legal. Malaysia was prepared to begin the process for a convention to eliminate all nuclear weapons.

On international arms transfers, he said it would be a step backwards if no agreement could be reached during the current session on guidelines and principles for arms transfers. It was timely to take stock of the status of the Conventional Arms Register. Unless the world's leading arms exporters, who also happen to be the permanent members of the Security Council and the acknowledged nuclear States, cooperated, the arms register's future was bleak. The 1992 Register of Conventional Arms was a transparent mechanism, which would have the effect of curbing the illicit arms flow and building confidence.

He also expressed the hope that the regions, particularly in East Asia, South Asia, West Asia and even in Europe would initiate steps towards the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones. He added that, given the occurrence of several mishaps involving nuclear submarines and given the situation where nuclear strategic doctrine seemed to be shifting towards sea-based systems, it was vital for the Commission to consider that issue in its entirety.

LIU JIEYI (China) said the two-week duration of the Commission's current session should not be a precedent for the future. He expressed the hope that the session would finalize guidelines with all countries in agreement. All countries were entitled to acquire legitimate means of self-defence on the premise of maintaining world peace and security and not seeking armaments exceeding reasonable defence needs. International arms transfers should serve to strengthen the defence capabilities of the recipient countries. Unrestrained international arms transfers, particularly sales of large amounts of sophisticated weapons to regions of tension, could only harm regional peace, security and stability. Countries possessing the largest conventional arsenals and exporting arms bore a special responsibility for international arms transfers.

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He said the proposed fourth special session of the Assembly on disarmament was an important new agenda item. China supported such a session as a means to review the past and look into the future, so the international community could chart the future course of disarmament. China stood for the complete prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons and had put forward a set of inter-related proposals for nuclear disarmament, including the conclusion of a comprehensive test-ban treaty, a no-first use treaty and a treaty on unconditionally not using or threatening to use nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon States or nuclear-weapon-free zones.

HENRIQUE R. VALLE (Brazil) said he expected the Disarmament Commission to show that it could produce concrete results. Too often, discussions were "blocked by rhetoric". The international community was approaching a crucial point in its effort to control the destructive potential of modern technology in the form of weapons of mass destruction. "Either we move forward towards their complete elimination, or run the risk of losing the window of opportunity opened with the end of the cold war", he said.

The most urgent measure in the nuclear area was the conclusion of the comprehensive nuclear test-ban treaty, he said. There were still important areas of disagreement in those negotiations. The cessation of nuclear tests was a moral and political imperative. He hoped for an early signing of the comprehensive test-ban treaty, and, in that connection, the pledge made in the Moscow summit last week by the leaders of the G-7 and Russia was encouraging. Also, the Canberra Commission, an independent group of experts convened at the initiative of Australia, was expected to deliver a report to the General Assembly and to the Conference on Disarmament containing concrete suggestions aimed at the complete elimination of nuclear weapons. He also supported the creation of an ad hoc group on nuclear disarmament at the Conference on Disarmament. The growing number of nuclear-free zones had been encouraging.

In the area of conventional weapons, he said that on 13 March 1996, Brazil became the forty-ninth country to ratify the chemical weapons Convention. He reiterated the importance that the two declared chemical weapons States be among the 65 original Member States of the chemical weapons Convention. He supported the work of the ad hoc group that was developing a system for strengthening the biological weapons Convention. He hoped that the review conference of the biological weapons Convention, to be held later this year in Geneva, would provide the impetus for the completion of the work of the ad hoc group in all areas.

MAJID TAKHT-RAVANCHI (Iran) said the international transfer of illicit arms was a familiar item on the agenda of the Disarmament Commission. Substantial progress was made last year in drawing draft guidelines. The issue, which had very direct links to international drug trafficking and terrorism, has had serious consequences on the security of a number of States across the globe. Such trade was an international problem, requiring solutions based on a common,

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international approach. The Commission, therefore, could play "a very constructive role" by identifying the reasons for illicit transfer of conventional arms, defining the responsibilities of supplier and recipient States, as well as establishing guidelines via regional and international organizations to tackle the problem of such illicit transfer.

He welcomed inclusion of a new item on the agenda dealing with a fourth special session of the General Assembly on disarmament. He was aware of apprehensions expressed so far on the advisability of having such a session in 1997. However, he was fully convinced that such a session would usefully take stock of the achievements made in disarmament thus far, and serve to set the agenda for the next century. The final document of the first special session on disarmament in 1978 had had far-reaching impact in the past two decades on almost all activities of disarmament and related security issues. Thus, every effort should be made to convene a new session.

Regarding the current state of affairs of the Disarmament Commission, he said that the setting of date, duration and agenda had somehow become intense and controversial. Arguments were advanced that the body failed to produce results on a number of items on the agenda. Nothing could be more erroneous than judging the relevance of the Commission on its lack of progress. With its universal membership, heavy workload and short duration, a single country failing to join consensus, along with the negative attitudes of certain States, could cripple the work. The attitudes of Member States, and the rules upon which the body operated, must be changed.

It went without saying that the Commission took precedence over ad hoc meetings on disarmament matters, he said. Where an overlap between meetings was inevitable, the Secretariat should make sure the members of the Commission were consulted in advance. Following the example of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, having a permanent agenda might serve as a basis of work. Being in a region that had been the scene of aggression, expansionist tendencies and destabilising conflicts and rivalries, he had a genuine appreciation for the need for an item dealing with nuclear-weapon-free zones. Lack of agreement on that item was inconceivable and he hoped current consultations would bear fruit.

ALYAKSANDR SYCHOU (Belarus) said the last session of the Commission had occurred under special circumstances, following the successful completion of the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the NPT. This year, the session followed the signing of the Pelindaba Treaty, which served as a signal that regional measures could go hand in hand with other measures to free the world of weapons of mass destruction. Other regions should follow in establishing such zones. The development of such a zone in eastern Europe was a consideration.

The work on international arms transfers was an important element of the current session, he said. The manufacture and transfer of land-mines was a significant part of that issue. A number of obstacles to disarmament had been

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removed by the joint efforts of certain Member States. The conclusion of such treaties as a comprehensive test-ban treaty must be handled with great urgency. In his region, adjustments must be made to new realities. Attempts to extend the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) bloc eastward were unjustified.

On the proposed fourth special session, he said the position of all Member States, both large and small, must be considered. A duplication of consideration of certain questions would be unproductive. The proposed session must be able to draw up a balance sheet on disarmament issues and plan for the future.

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