SLOVAKIA CALLS FOR 'CUT-OFF' NEGOTIATIONS AND EXPLORATION OF DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE ROLE IN NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

28 February 1997

Press Release
DCF/289

SLOVAKIA CALLS FOR 'CUT-OFF' NEGOTIATIONS AND EXPLORATION OF DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE ROLE IN NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT

19970228 Finland Urges Action on Land-Mine Ban

GENEVA, 27 February (UN Information Service) -- The representative of Slovakia called this morning for the Conference on Disarmament to re-establish an ad hoc committee on a treaty to ban the production of fissile material and the representative of Finland repeated a proposal that a Special Coordinator be appointed on the issue of anti-personnel land-mines.

Also speaking at the Conference's weekly Thursday morning plenary was the group's President, Pavel Grecu (Romania), who said that he had completed a series of bilateral consultations with members of the Conference and soon would report on the results of how various States stood on the issues of nuclear disarmament, a fissile material "cut-off" treaty and anti-personnel land-mines. The main lesson he had learned was that more work was needed to make tangible progress, Mr. Grecu said.

Luxembourg and the Kyrgyz Republic were approved for participation in the Conference as observers.

Statements

MARIA KRASNOHORSKA (Slovakia) said the country had favoured modernization of the Conference's agenda, but understood that to reach consensus it had been necessary to accept a modified version of the 1996 agenda. Slovakia still believed that linkages were not conducive to progress by the Conference, and in fact could be counterproductive. As there seemed to be three issues commanding quite broad support -- fissile material cut-off, nuclear disarmament and the complex issue of anti-personnel land-mines -- Slovakia believed the Conference should concentrate on those matters. The country saw a fissile material "cut-off" treaty as a logical step on the path of nuclear disarmament, and believed that the relevant ad hoc committee should be re-established without further delay. But Slovakia felt that the Conference should start at the same time a discussion to explore what further role it could play in nuclear disarmament and to identify specific issues under that heading to pursue substantively.

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The problem of land-mines had become so grave that every suitable possibility and forum should be made use of to deal with it, she said. That should include the Conference, especially if members were interested in accomplishing a global and effective ban supported by an effective verification mechanism. Slovakia did not see such possible negotiations as an alternative to the Ottawa Process but as something complementary and mutually reinforcing. She concluded by noting that Slovakia believed that membership in the Conference should be open to every applicant country, and supported the proposal to nominate a Special Coordinator to concentrate on the matter of expansion of membership.

PASI PATOKALLIO (Finland) said the issue of anti-personnel land-mines had now been discussed in a general way for several weeks, and it was time to move from talk to action. The Conference must show those who believed the group could not move quickly enough to deal with that humanitarian crisis that they were wrong. The task should be to negotiate a global, verifiable ban on those weapons. Finland already had proposed the establishment of a position of Special Coordinator to explore the possibility of addressing the issue of land-mines. Now it was repeating that request, as the lack of progress over the ensuing few weeks had shown how necessary such a position was. Finland hoped the President could establish agreement for appointment of such an official today or at latest by next week's plenary, and that the official could report back to the Conference before Easter.

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