UNITED STATES DECISION TO JOIN TALKS TO BAN LAND-MINES FORMALLY REPORTED TO DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE

Press Release
DCF/312

UNITED STATES DECISION TO JOIN TALKS TO BAN LAND-MINES FORMALLY REPORTED TO DISARMAMENT CONFERENCE

GENEVA, 21 August (UN Information Service) -- The United States informed the Conference on Disarmament this morning of its decision to participate in the Ottawa process negotiations, set to begin on 1 September in Oslo, to conclude a draft treaty to ban anti-personnel land-mines in time for signature in December.

The United States' representative at the Conference said his country would work to secure an agreement that achieved its humanitarian goals while protecting its national security interests; the United States remained committed to the establishment of step-by-step negotiations toward a global ban. That effort remained essential since membership of the Conference included most of the major historical producers and exporters of anti-personnel land-mines.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan has welcomed the move by the United States. In a statement relayed to the Conference this morning, the Secretary-General said the United States action came at a crucial time, as arrangements were being made for the opening of formal negotiations in Oslo. He said he looked forward to opening the treaty for signature in Ottawa this December and hoped there would be progress in the parallel efforts being made in the Conference to achieve universality of a total ban on those "horrific weapons".

The Disarmament Conference is entering upon the last month of its current session with a new President, Bernard Goonetilleke of Sri Lanka. He said he was optimistic that in 1998 the Conference would be able to take a quick decision establishing one or more ad hoc committees, and begin negotiations as early as possible. He added that consultations could be held to narrow the differences on other agenda items. If the Conference could reach such an understanding during this session, members could take pride that the era of polemics and rhetoric was behind them.

In a discussion on the work programme of the Conference, the representative of Nigeria, speaking on behalf of the Group of 21, asked whether delegations which had requested time to consult their capitals on the Group's proposals (including for the establishment of an ad hoc committee on nuclear disarmament) were ready to express their position.

Representatives of the United States, France and the United Kingdom asked whether, at this point, the Conference could conduct useful work before the end of the session on negative security assurances and the prevention of an arms race in outer space. The French representative further asked whether at this late hour the proposed establishment of ad hoc committees was not a bureaucratic procedure aimed at inflating the Conference's work record for this year.

The representative of India said her country gave priority to the establishment of an ad hoc committee on nuclear disarmament. The little time left could be used to lay the foundations of work for next year. The representative of South Africa said his country was opposed to the establishment of an ad hoc committee on negative security assurances, since that was a question to be examined within the framework of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.

The representative of China said the Conference should establish an ad hoc committee on negative security assurances as soon as possible, with negotiations beginning at the start of the next session; China respected the choice of the Ottawa process, he said, but felt the question should not be at the centre of the Conference's work. Representatives of Chile and Argentina said the Conference should take up the question of anti-personnel land-mines next year, in order to conduct work complementary to the Ottawa process.

The President said there was no objection to the consideration of the questions of negative security assurances and the prevention of an arms race in outer space. He would hold consultations on those issues, given the feeling that an agreement could be reached.

Statements

VLADIMIR PETROVSKY, Secretary-General of the Conference, read out the statement of the United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan welcoming the decision of the United States to participate in the Ottawa process negotiations. The action by the United States came at a crucial moment, the statement said, since arrangements were being made to open formal negotiations in Oslo on 1 September. The Secretary-General hoped that the Oslo Conference would succeed in concluding a truly comprehensive ban, which would come to the General Assembly for endorsement at its coming session. He said he looked

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forward to opening the treaty for signature in Ottawa in December, and also hoped there would be progress in the parallel efforts being made in the Conference to achieve universality of a total ban on those "horrific weapons".

KATHARINE C. CRITTENBERGER (United States) said she wished to note formally the decision of the United States to participate in the Ottawa process negotiations set to begin on September 1 in Oslo, to conclude a draft treaty to ban anti-personnel land-mines in time for signature in December. The United States would work to secure an agreement that achieved its humanitarian goals while protecting its national security interests. The United States remained committed to the establishment of step-by-step negotiations toward a global ban in the Conference. That effort remained essential since the Conference's membership included most of the major historical producers and exporters of anti-personnel land-mines. The United States would also continue its efforts to ratify the amended mines protocol of the Convention on Conventional Weapons amended and urged others to do the same.

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