FOREIGN MINISTER OF SLOVAKIA URGES NEGOTIATIONS ON FISSILE MATERIALS, END TO STALEMATE ON DISARMAMENT WORK PROGRAMME
Press Release
DCF/302
FOREIGN MINISTER OF SLOVAKIA URGES NEGOTIATIONS ON FISSILE MATERIALS, END TO STALEMATE ON DISARMAMENT WORK PROGRAMME
19970623 (Delayed in transmission.)GENEVA, 19 June (UN Information Service) -- The Minister for Foreign Affairs of Slovakia told the Conference on Disarmament this morning that it must capitalize on a favourable international political environment and its own momentum and embark on the "next logical assignment" following completion last year of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) -- talks on the prohibition of production of fissile materials for weapons and other explosive devices.
The opening of actual negotiations on that topic had become only a technical question, Foreign Minister Zdenka Kramplova said, and Slovakia was prepared to commence substantive work immediately. She also urged negotiations towards a ban on anti-personnel land-mines and called for an end to the months-long deadlock over the Conference's work programme.
The Conference during its regular Thursday morning plenary also heard formal statements from representatives of Italy and Mexico, then broke into regional groups to discuss what steps to take, if any, on a proposal tabled to appoint a special coordinator on the subject of land-mines. When the plenary reconvened, it was announced that further time was needed to review the draft decision. A representative of Australia read out a formal draft measure on the appointment of such a special coordinator.
Absa Diallo (Senegal), ending her term as Chairman of the Conference, said in a brief statement before adjourning the meeting that extensive efforts to agree on a programme of work for the Conference unfortunately had failed, apparently because of fundamental differences among various countries and groups over which priorities should be pursued by the disarmament forum.
Statements
ZDENKA KRAMPLOVA, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Slovakia, said the weight attached by the country to the work of the Conference could be judged by the fact that this was her first official visit abroad as Minister for Foreign Affairs. The country, in its short time, had strongly supported the
Conference's work and disarmament efforts in general, including the Chemical Weapons Convention, the CTBT, the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and the strengthening of the Biological Weapons Convention. It had been encouraged further by statements by the United States and the Russian Federation following their recent meeting in Helsinki on additional reductions in strategic arms.
The achievements of the Conference proved that a favourable international political environment continued to exist for progress in disarmament, she said. But, currently the group seemed not to be making full use of those opportunities nor making use of the momentum resulting from completion of the CTBT. It was highly important to preserve that momentum. The next logical assignment for the Conference should be work on the prohibition of production of fissile materials for weapons and other explosive devices. The opening of actual negotiations had become only a technical question, and Slovakia was prepared to commence such substantive work immediately.
The Conference furthermore should adopt a balanced approach to disarmament problems and focus as well on conventional weapons -- especially land-mines, she said. Slovakia supported ultimate elimination of anti-personnel land-mines and in 1994 had adopted an indefinite moratorium on their import, export and transfer. Humanitarian aspects of that issue were being handled by the Ottawa process, but the disarmament perspective was a suitable subject for the Conference and suggestions for opening negotiations leading to an eventual ban on land-mines through talks on the prohibition of transfers was a very rational approach for the group to take. She expressed the hope that difficulties experienced by the Conference in relation to its work programme would be overcome soon.
GIUSEPPE BALBONI ACQUA (Italy) said the present stalemate in the Conference's work gave rise to concern and perplexity. It was advisable, without denying full respect for each national position, that adequate room be left for a free comparison of different theses in order to find a minimum common denominator on which the best solutions for successful work could be based. Linkages and crossed vetoes did not help to achieve positive results, dialogue did.
Italy urged everyone to be specific in pursuing the goal of nuclear disarmament, and to embark on negotiations for which the time was now ripe -- a ban on production of fissile materials, he said. That would be only the first of a series of measures set out in the principles-and-objectives document agreed to at the Review and Extension Conference on the NPT which, in the view of Italy, was itself a plan of action for nuclear disarmament over the next few years. Some promising goals contained in the document were consolidation and extension of denuclearized zones; strengthening of negative and positive security assurances; and extending and enhancing International
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Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards to prevent undeclared nuclear activity. Work on fashioning a ban on land-mines also was an important project for the Conference. Italy's commitment to that end was illustrated by its decision on 13 June to renounce operative use of anti-personnel land-mines.
ANTONIO DE ICAZA (Mexico) said that at the last plenary a group of 12 delegations had tried to impose a decision under which the Conference would deal with the subject of land-mines and even hold consultations on a negotiating mandate despite a lack of consensus within the Conference. Mexico had opposed that initiative. The untruth had been spread that Mexico did not wish a ban on land-mines and such a contention was in bad faith. Mexico favoured a complete ban, but any ban that did not have full scope would not bring an end to the problem. The country had been fully involved in various international processes related to banning of land-mines and had taken national steps to prevent their transfer and use. Mexico had proposed designation of a special coordinator to gather the views of delegations on conventional-arms negotiations with special emphasis on land-mines.
However, he continued, Mexico doubted that the Conference was the proper forum for such negotiations. The humanitarian aspect of the problem was predominant, and was being addressed adequately by the Ottawa process. In addition, the Conference had other priorities, in particular nuclear disarmament and reductions of risks posed by other weapons on mass destruction. Further, it was not certain, given the Conference's working methods, that it could achieve a total ban on land-mines quickly enough to satisfy world opinion. Mexico was not opposed to further exploration of the subject, provided all steps were based on consensus. Meanwhile, Mexico and 26 other delegations had presented a proposed mandate for an ad hoc committee on nuclear disarmament, and would like that proposal to be seriously studied.
ABSA DIALLO (Senegal), ending her term as Chairman of the Conference, said all efforts to break the impasse and come up with a balanced approach, based on consensus, to the Conference's work, unfortunately had been in vain. It was not a problem with working methods that had hindered progress, but fundamental differences among different groups about the priorities that should be addressed by the Conference. She was certain efforts and informal negotiations would continue as the group tried to find its way.
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