UNITED STATES CALLS FOR ACTION ON PROPOSAL TO APPOINT SPECIAL COORDINATOR ON LAND-MINES, BUT DECISION DELAYED
Press Release
DCF/303
UNITED STATES CALLS FOR ACTION ON PROPOSAL TO APPOINT SPECIAL COORDINATOR ON LAND-MINES, BUT DECISION DELAYED
19970624 President Calls on Delegations to Prepare to Act on Draft on Thursday(Reproduced as received.)
GENEVA, 24 June (UN Information Service) -- The United States called this morning for an immediate decision on a proposal, which was officially tabled by Australia, that the Conference on Disarmament appoint a special coordinator to explore possibilities for a global ban on anti-personnel land- mines, but action was delayed until Thursday to allow some national delegations to consult with their capitals.
Speaking at an unusual Tuesday plenary of the Conference, United States representative Katharine C. Crittenberger endorsed the Conference as the appropriate forum for negotiating a land-mine ban. While the United States continued to believe that the parallel Ottawa process could provide useful political momentum to the wider overall effort to ban those weapons, she said, many politically and militarily important nations were not full participants in that process, and a number of them had indicated that they would not be bound by any draft treaty negotiated without their full and active participation. To rid the world's arsenals of land-mines, she added, "we need to negotiate here, in the Conference on Disarmament".
Ms. Crittenberger also called negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other explosive devices the next logical step for the Conference in the nuclear field. Currently, she said, fissile material was the modern "choke point" in creating or enlarging nuclear stockpiles; even a State that knew how to make nuclear weapons could not manufacture them unless it had adequate fissile material on hand.
Her address followed a statement by incoming Conference President Maria Krasnohorska of the Slovak Republic who urged an end to the continuing deadlock over the group's current aims and work programme. Progress seemed too slow, the positions of some delegations rather inflexible sometimes even influenced by a spirit of distrust, she said. Mutual confidence, pragmatism,
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and concentration on the issues that joined countries together should take precedence over matters that separated nations.
Ms. Krasnohorska, responding to the request by the United States, ruled -- following an intervention by the representative of Sri Lanka -- that some delegations were still communicating with their capitals, and so the Conference was not ready to take a decision on appointing a special coordinator on land-mines. She called for the Conference to be ready to do so on Thursday, the day of its regular weekly plenary.
The Conference will reconvene at 10 a.m. Thursday, 26 June.
Statements
MARIA KRASNOHORSKA (Slovak Republic), incoming President of the Conference, said the Conference must recall not only satisfaction at its accomplishments but its obligations to the international community. The Conference at its current crossroads faced a major challenge as, in the words of the Foreign Minister of Slovakia who had addressed the body recently, it seemed "not to be taking full use of the offered opportunities". Its progress seemed to be too slow, the positions of some delegations rather inflexible, sometimes even influenced by a spirit of distrust.
She believed that mutual confidence, pragmatism, and concentration on the issues that joined countries together should take precedence over matters that separated nations. Creating "linkages" between substantial elements of the Conference's work was not plausible, nor was it likely to be conducive to progress. The Conference had to address the most pressing issues before it, involving both nuclear and conventional weapons, and should not delay too much a discussion on what further role, if any, it could play in nuclear disarmament; it should identify the specific issues it could embark upon. In the meanwhile, it should concentrate on the issues that seemed the least controversial and where progress appeared to be within reach.
The Conference also should explore the issue of expansion of its membership, she said, adding that she intended to hold consultations on the possibility of nominating a special coordinator on the subject.
KATHARINE C. CRITTENBERGER (United States) said the next logical step was for the Conference to negotiate a non-discriminatory, multilateral, and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other explosive devices. Currently, fissile material was the modern choke point in creating or enlarging nuclear stockpiles. Even a State that knew how to make nuclear weapons could not manufacture them unless it had adequate fissile material on hand.
The United States strongly supported Australia's proposal for the appointment by the Conference of a special coordinator to conduct consultations on a comprehensive global ban on anti-personnel land-mines, and
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present an early report, she said. The United States urged that the proposal be approved promptly; it called for a decision today. The country continued to believe that the Ottawa process could provide useful political momentum to the wider overall effort to ban those weapons. On the other hand, the United States remained convinced that the Conference offered the most practical and effective forum for negotiating a comprehensive global ban on anti-personnel land-mines. Many politically and militarily important nations were not full participants in the Ottawa process, and a number of them had indicated that they would not be bound by any draft treaty negotiated without their full and active participation. To rid the world's arsenals of land-mines, "we need to negotiate here, in the Conference on Disarmament".
The Conference should reestablish its ad hoc committee on transparency in armaments -- a step long overdue, she continued. The United States also felt that perhaps a "Friend of the Chair" should be appointed to explore the long-delayed question of observer countries who had applied for admission as full members of the Conference.
She called for an end to the deadlock over what the Conference should do next, saying that the limits of rhetoric and procedural manoeuvre had been explored and now was the time for action on issues ripe for real negotiations.
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