URGENT CONSIDERATION OF CONVENTIONAL ARMS CONTROL AT REGIONAL LEVEL CALLED FOR BY FIFTH COMMITTEE
Press Release
GA/DIS/3096
URGENT CONSIDERATION OF CONVENTIONAL ARMS CONTROL AT REGIONAL LEVEL CALLED FOR BY FIFTH COMMITTEE
19971111 Guiding Principles Sought from Conference on Disarmament; Texts Approved on Outer Space, Military Spending, Treaty ComplianceThe General Assembly would decide to give urgent consideration to conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels, by the terms of one of six draft resolutions approved this morning by the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security). By the text, the Assembly would ask the Conference on Disarmament to consider formulating principles to serve as a framework for regional conventional arms control agreements.
The draft was approved by a recorded vote of 153 in favour to one against (India), with two abstentions (Cuba, Libya). (For details of the vote, see Annex II.)
Without a vote, the Committee approved a draft by which the Assembly would urgently call upon all States to become parties as soon as possible to the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects. States would also be asked to join the Protocols of the Convention, particularly one restricting the use of mines, booby traps and other devices. Action on two related texts was deferred.
According to another draft approved this morning, the Assembly would urge States conducting, or interested in conducting, activities in outer space, to inform the Conference on Disarmament of the progress of related bilateral or multilateral negotiations. The Assembly would also call upon all States, in particular those with major space capabilities, to contribute actively to the peaceful use of outer space and to the prevention of an outer space arms race.
The draft was approved by a recorded vote of 101 in favour to none against, with 40 abstentions. (See Annex I.)
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The Assembly would urge all States parties to arms limitation, non- proliferation and disarmament agreements to implement and comply with all provisions of those agreements, by the terms of another text approved today. It would also call on Member States to give serious consideration to the implications for international security and stability of non-compliance.
Other texts approved today would have the Assembly call upon all Member States to report annually to the Secretary-General their military expenditures for the latest fiscal year; and reaffirm the critical importance of, and the vital contribution made by, effective verification measures in arms limitation and disarmament agreements.
Statements were made by the representatives of China, Cuba, Egypt, Haiti, India, Israel, Luxembourg, Nigeria, Pakistan, Republic of Korea, Slovenia, Sri Lanka, Swaziland, Tunisia, United States, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe.
The First Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Wednesday, 12 November, to continue taking action on disarmament drafts.
Committee Work Programme
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) met this morning to continue taking action on disarmament draft resolutions and decisions. It had before it two nuclear-related drafts, action on which had been deferred yesterday. Those include a draft on the risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, and a draft on a nuclear-weapon-free southern hemisphere.
The Committee also had before it a draft on the Status of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention).
It also had before it a series of drafts on conventional weapons, which include three drafts concerning anti-personnel landmines, and two drafts concerning small arms. A text on preventing an arms race in outer space was before the Committee, as well as two texts concerning regional disarmament.
Finally, the Committee had before it the following series of drafts on confidence-building, including transparency in armaments:
By the terms of a text sponsored by Egypt on transparency in armaments (document A/C.1/52/L.2), the Assembly would reaffirm that there is an interrelationship between transparency in the fields of conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction and transfers of high technology with military applications. It would ask the Secretary-General to seek the views of Member States on enhancing transparency in the field of conventional weapons, and to include in his report to the Assembly at its fifty-third session a special section on the resolution's implementation.
Under a draft resolution on regional confidence-building measures (document A/C.1/52/L.6), the Assembly would invite the States members of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa that have not yet signed the Non-Aggression pact to do so, and it would encourage all Member States to expedite ratification in order to contribute to the prevention of conflicts in the Central African subregion.
The Assembly would welcome the Committee's programmes, which are designed, among other objectives, to set up an early-warning system for Central Africa, to retrain demobilized soldiers and prepare them for reintegration into civilian life, and combat the illegal circulation of weapons and drugs in the subregion. It would express its conviction that the full implementation of such measures would promote confidence and the establishment of democracy and good governance in the region.
The draft resolution is sponsored by Gabon, on behalf of the States members of the United Nations Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa.
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According to a 23-Power draft resolution on verification (document A/C.1/52/L.30), the Assembly would reaffirm the critical importance of, and the vital contribution that has been made by, effective verification measures in arms limitation and disarmament agreements, and it would ask the Secretary- General to report to the Assembly's fifty-fourth session on further views of Member States.
The draft resolution is sponsored by Austria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, New Zealand, Poland, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Singapore, Slovakia, Sri Lanka, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine and Uruguay.
By a 36-Power text on objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures (document A/C.1/52/L.31), the Assembly would call upon all Member States to report annually, by 30 April, to the Secretary-General their military expenditures for the latest fiscal year. It would also call upon them to provide the Secretary-General with their views on ways and means to strengthen and broaden participation in the United Nations system for the standardized reporting of such expenditures, including necessary changes to its content and structure.
The Assembly would recommend that all Member States implement the guidelines and recommendations for objective information on military matters, fully taking into account specific political, military and other conditions prevailing in a region.
The draft resolution is sponsored by Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Costa Rica, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, United Kingdom and the United States.
By the terms of a draft resolution on compliance with arms limitation, non-proliferation and disarmament agreements (document A/C.1/52/L.33), the Assembly would urge all States parties to arms limitation, non-proliferation and disarmament agreements to implement and comply with all provisions of those agreements. It would call on Member States to give serious consideration to the implications that non-compliance has for international security and stability. It would also call on Member States to support efforts aimed at the resolution of compliance questions by means consistent with such agreements and international law, with a view to encouraging strict observance by all States parties of the provisions of such agreements.
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The draft resolution is sponsored by Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bolivia, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liberia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mongolia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Niger, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, United Kingdom, United States and Uruguay.
Under the terms of a 93-Power text on transparency in armaments (document A/C.1/52/L.43), the Assembly would call upon Member States to provide to the Secretary-General by 31 May annually the requested data and information for the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms, including nil reports if appropriate.
The Assembly would also invite Member States, pending further development of the Register, to provide additional information on procurement from national production and military holdings. It would decide to keep its scope and participation under review and, to that end, ask the Secretary- General, with the assistance of a group of governmental experts to be convened in 2000, to report on the continuing operation of the Register and its further development, with a view to a decision at the fifty-fifth Assembly session.
The draft resolution is sponsored by Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Cape Verde, Chile, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Ecuador, El Salvador, Estonia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Grenada, Guinea, Guyana, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malawi, Malaysia, Malta, Marshall Islands, Monaco, Mongolia, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Samoa, San Marino, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States and Venezuela.
By the terms of a draft resolution on the risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East (document A/C.1/52/L.5/Rev.2), the Assembly would call upon the only State in the region not yet party to the Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), to accede to the Treaty without further delay, not to develop, produce, test or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons and to renounce possession of such weapons, and to place all its unsafeguarded nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards.
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The draft resolution is sponsored by Egypt on behalf of the Member States which are members of the League of Arab States.
Under the terms of a 66-Power resolution on the nuclear-weapon-free southern hemisphere and adjacent areas (document A/C.1/52/L.35), the Assembly would call for the ratification of the Treaties of Tlatelolco, Rarotonga, Bangkok and Pelindaba by all regional States, and call upon all concerned States to facilitate adherence to the protocols to such treaties by all relevant States that have not done so. It would also call upon the States parties and signatories to those treaties to implement further ways to cooperate in the promotion of the nuclear-weapon-free status of the southern hemisphere.
The Assembly would also stress the role of such zones in strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime and in extending the areas of the world that are nuclear-weapon-free, with particular reference to the responsibilities of the nuclear-weapon States in that regard.
The draft resolution is sponsored by Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Indonesia, Jamaica, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Liberia, Malaysia, Marshall Islands, Mexico, Mongolia, Mozambique, Namibia, New Zealand, Nigeria, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Samoa, San Marino, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sudan, Suriname, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela and Zimbabwe.
[The treaties cited above are: Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco); the South Pacific Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga); the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon Free Zone Treaty (Bangkok Treaty); and the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Pelindaba Treaty).]
By the terms of a draft resolution on the status of the Chemical Weapons Convention (document A/C.1/52/L.45), which entered into force in April, the General Assembly would urge all States parties to the Convention to meet their Convention obligations, and to support the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) in its implementation activities. It would stress the importance of full implementation of, and compliance with, all provisions of the Convention, and emphasize the necessity of universal adherence to it, calling upon all States that had not yet done so to become States parties without delay.
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The draft resolution was co-sponsored by Canada and Poland.
[The treaty cited above is the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction.]
A draft resolution on preventing an outer space arms race (document A/C.1/52/L.19) would have the Assembly urge States conducting activities in outer space, as well as States interested in conducting such activities, to inform the Conference on Disarmament of the progress of related bilateral or multilateral negotiations. The Assembly would also call upon all States, in particular those with major space capabilities, to contribute actively to the peaceful use of outer space and to the prevention of an outer space arms race.
The Assembly would emphasize the need for further measures with effective verification provisions to prevent an arms race in outer space. It would repeat that the Conference on Disarmament has the primary role in negotiating multilateral agreements to prevent such an arms race, and it would invite the Conference to re-establish the relevant ad hoc committee with a negotiating mandate at the beginning of its 1998 session.
The draft resolution is sponsored by Chile, China, Costa Rica, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Sri Lanka and Sudan.
By the terms of a 106-Power text, the Assembly would urge all States to ratify without delay the convention against anti-personnel mines (document A/C.1/52/L.1), and call upon them to contribute towards the effective implementation of the Convention in the areas of victim rehabilitation, mine clearance and destruction. It would invite all States to sign the Convention, which will be open for signature in Ottawa on 3 and 4 December 1997, and thereafter at United Nations Headquarters in New York until its entry into force.
The draft resolution is sponsored by Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Austria, Bahamas, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belgium, Belize, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Canada, Chad, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, France, Gabon, Germany, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Monaco, Mozambique, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Norway, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South
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Africa, Spain, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Uganda, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
[The treaty cited above is: the Convention on the prohibition of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of anti-personnel landmines and on Their Destruction.]
By the terms of a 14-power draft resolution on assistance to States for curbing the illicit transfer and use of conventional arms (document A/C.1/52/L.8), the Assembly would encourage the Secretary-General to continue his efforts to curb the illicit circulation of small arms and to collect them in affected States that so requested. The Assembly would encourage the setting up in the countries of the Saharo-Sahelian subregion of national commissions against the proliferation of small arms. It would welcome Mali's action to collect such arms in the affected States of that region.
The resolution is sponsored by Benin, Burkina Faso, Chad, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Gabon, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Japan, Liberia, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Togo.
By the terms of a 48-Power draft resolution on the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (document A/C.1/52/L.22), the Assembly would urgently call upon all States to become parties to the Convention and its Protocols as soon as possible, particularly to amended Protocol II (the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby Traps and Other Devices.) It would call, in particular, upon the States parties to the Convention to agree to be bound by the amended Protocol II, with a view to its earliest entry into force, and pending its entry into force to ensure respect for its substantive provisions to the fullest extent possible.
The draft resolution is sponsored by Australia, Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Ecuador, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Norway, Panama, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, United Kingdom, United States and Uruguay.
[The full name of the treaty mentioned above is the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons which may be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to have Indiscriminate Effects.]
According to a 26-Power draft on anti-personnel landmines (document A/C.1/52/L.23), the Assembly -- taking into account the efforts to address the landmine issue and underlining that those efforts should be mutually
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reinforcing -- would urge all States to intensify their efforts to contribute to the objective of the elimination of anti-personnel landmines.
The Assembly would welcome the various bans, moratoriums and other restrictions already declared by States on anti-personnel landmines, and it would call upon all other States to declare and implement such restrictions as soon as possible. It would also invite the Conference on Disarmament to intensify its efforts on the issue.
The draft resolution is sponsored by Australia, Belgium, Bulgaria, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Poland, Republic of Moldova, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, and United States.
By the terms of a 34-Power draft on small arms (document A/C.1/52/L.27), the Assembly would call upon all Member States to implement -- in cooperation with appropriate international and regional organizations and police, intelligence, customs and border control services -- the recommendations unanimously approved by the Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms. Member States would be encouraged to implement the recommendations on post- conflict situations, including demobilizing former combatants and destroying weapons.
The Assembly would ask the Secretary-General to implement the relevant recommendations and to initiate a study on the problems of ammunition and explosives. It further asks him to prepare a report, with the assistance of a group of governmental experts to be nominated by him in 1998 on the basis of equitable geographic representation, on the progress made in the implementation of those recommendations.
The draft resolution is sponsored by Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, El Salvador, Finland, Germany, Guinea, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mali, Mozambique, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Romania, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sweden, the former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, United Kingdom and the and United States
According to the terms of a 23-Power text on regional disarmament (document A/C.1/52/L.39), the Assembly would call upon States to conclude agreements for nuclear non-proliferation, disarmament and confidence-building measures at the regional and subregional levels. It would stress that sustained efforts were needed, within the framework of the Conference on Disarmament and under the umbrella of the United Nations, to make progress on the entire range of disarmament issues.
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The Assembly would support and encourage efforts aimed at promoting confidence-building measures at the regional and subregional levels in order to ease regional tensions and to further disarmament and nuclear non- proliferation measures.
The draft resolution is sponsored by Armenia, Bangladesh, Bolivia, Chile, Colombia, Congo, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Indonesia, Liberia, Mali, New Zealand, Niger, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and Zimbabwe.
Under the terms of a draft text on conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels (document A/C.1/52/L.40), the Assembly would decide to give urgent consideration to the issues involved in conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels, and it would ask the Conference on Disarmament to consider the formulation of principles that could serve as a framework for regional conventional arms control agreements.
The draft resolution is sponsored by Bangladesh, Benin, Czech Republic, Democratic Republic of the Congo, El Salvador, Italy, Mexico, Norway, Pakistan, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia and the United Kingdom.
Action on Drafts
The draft resolution concerning prevention of an outer space arms race (A/C.1/52/L.19) was approved by a recorded vote of 101 in favour to none against, with 40 abstentions. (For details of the vote see Annex I.)
The representative of the United States said he had abstained in the vote for a number of reasons, among them the preambular paragraph on the Conference on Disarmament which, according to the draft, had a primary role in outer space negotiations. The text suffered from a fundamental conceptual weakness, ignoring the fact that there was no arms race in outer space. The continual presence of American astronauts aboard Russian spacecraft testified to the fact that we were in an era of unprecedented cooperation in space. If there was work to be done in the Conference, the current draft did not point us in the right direction. Its sponsors should take current realities into account.
The representative of Luxembourg, speaking on behalf of the European Union, said that he had abstained on the vote because of the reference to the Conference on Disarmament in a preambular paragraph (11) but, the Union appreciated the invitation made to the Conference in one of the operative paragraphs (6). However, it would be inappropriate to prejudge the discussion in the Conference before it unfolded in 1998.
The representative of Tunisia said that if he had been present for the vote, he would have voted in favour of the draft.
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Turning to the texts concerning conventional weapons, the representative of Sri Lanka told the Committee the draft resolutions on anti-personnel landmines had generated much interest, driven by the humanitarian concerns. However, the problem was not the landmines per se, but their indiscriminate use. Sri Lanka was not a State party to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. He said the indiscriminate use by insurgents in Sri Lanka made the use on landmines necessary for security in remote parts of the country and he was, consequently, painfully was painfully aware of the adverse impact of those weapons.
Measures were needed to ban the manufacture, stockpiling, transfer and use of indiscriminate landmines, sooner than later. While the relevant drafts (A/C.1/52/L.1 and L.23) were motivated by humanitarian concerns, he was not in a position to vote in favour of them, because of the prevailing security situation in his country. He would consider becoming a party to the Ottawa convention. It was not clear what further work could be done in the Conference on the landmines issue. He would not like to see the Conference persuade some countries not to use landmines while allowing others to rely upon them. That would not help the humanitarian cause, but would, rather, exacerbate the situation. Cheap and crude anti-personnel landmines could become available to those countries, further victimizing innocent civilians.
The representative of Slovenia said the issue of an international legal ban on mines was the most important issue in the conventional weapons field. For that reason, his country had co-sponsored the drafts on the conventions against landmines and excessively injurious weapons. It had joined the Ottawa process from the very beginning, and would sign the convention -- "an historic achievement". Slovenia had already started to destroy its mines stockpiles. Ultimately, all emplaced mines must be removed, and he was ready to contribute in that regard.
The representative of the Republic of Korea said the proliferation and indiscriminate use of landmines not only inflicted great suffering and death upon civilians, but posed an obstacle to economic and social rehabilitation. His country had taken a number of measures to control the problem. The tragic humanitarian effects of those weapons must be minimized and contained.
While he fully recognized the goal of their eventual elimination, he went on, the current security situation on the Korean peninsula and the absence of alternatives precluded his country from fully supporting a total ban, so he could not favour the draft on the convention for their prohibition (L.1).
He wished to emphasize that the anti-personnel landmines in the Republic of Korea were not resulting in any civilian deaths or casualties. The mine fields were fenced and clearly mapped, and monitored round-the-clock. He fully shared the view that efforts towards their elimination should be intensified in the Conference.
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The representative of Viet Nam said he shared the concern over the indiscriminate use of those landmines, since his population had been victimized by such weapons. He supported the straight prohibition of their indiscriminate use and export. De-mining and humanitarian assistance were of great importance. The central issue in the question was their indiscriminate nature. He said any agreements should take into account a country's legitimate rights with regard to the United Nations principle of self-defence, he continued. That principle had not been taken into account in the text on the convention against anti-personnel mines (L.1). While he recognized the efforts of the co-sponsors of the draft on anti-personnel landmines (A/C.1/52/L.23) for those States not in a position to join the Ottawa convention, his Government had yet to make it clear its national security position. Furthermore, a preambular paragraph referred to two previous resolutions which Viet Nam had not been in a position to support. He noted the reference in the text to the Conference on Disarmament and said the Conference should continue to focus on the question of nuclear disarmament.
The representative of Zimbabwe said he had not been present for the vote on the prevention of an arms race in outer space, but would have voted in favour of the draft.
The representative of Haiti said his country wished to co-sponsor the draft resolutions on assistance to States for curbing the illicit traffic in small arms (A/C.1/52/L.8) and on small arms (A/C.1/52/L.27). He had not been present for the vote on the prevention of an arms race in outer space, but would have voted in favour.
The representative of Egypt said he was in favour of the objective of the total banning of anti-personnel mines. However, Egypt was faced with the problem of landmines planted on its territory by foreigners who participated in wars there more than 50 years ago. There had so far been no persistent international efforts to provide assistance to clear those mines. Egypt had asked that a balanced methodology be used regarding the efforts to ban the production and use of mines, and the efforts directed towards clearing mines.
Many countries used mines for self-defence, especially those which had long borders which were difficult to supervise, and to prevent smuggling and infiltration. Egypt was one of the countries that had suffered most as a result of anti-personnel mines -- there were nearly 34 million mines there, left over from the Second World War. They constituted a serious danger to the lives of innocent civilians. There were more than 8,000 victims of those mines in Egypt. The mines also hindered economic development, constituting an obstacle to agriculture and tourism. The land was needed. He called for solidarity from the international community and help in de-mining efforts.
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The representative of Pakistan said his country was a longstanding adherent to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. It was ironic that the escalation in the irresponsible and indiscriminate use of landmines had occurred after Protocol II of the Convention, which dealt with such weapons, entered into force. He said Pakistan would continue to observe all its obligations under the Convention, and would adhere to the revised Protocol II. Pakistan had taken part in the Ottawa process as an observer. However, it would be unable to sign the treaty that had been agreed on, and could not endorse a call for a complete ban on anti-personnel mines. Initiatives should focus in three areas: promoting adherence to protocol II; mine clearance programmes (in which connection, he said, he welcomed the initiative of the United States to increase its mine clearing budget five fold) and exploration in the Conference on Disarmament of further measures towards the elimination of landmines, without jeopardizing the security of States. He would support the draft on anti-personnel landmines (A/C.1/52/L.23), despite some reservations.
The representative of Nigeria said if her delegation had been present for the vote on the draft on the prevention of an arms race in outer space, as a co-sponsor, Nigeria would have voted in favour.
The representative of China said the debate on landmines had been "overblown". Everyone was talking about them as if the world would collapse without debate on the issue, but reality was different. The Committee was now discussing two resolutions on the issue. Regarding the Ottawa Convention, the Chinese delegation had very strong views. The Convention called for an immediate and total ban. China had not participated in the Ottawa process. Like many other countries, based on its security concerns it felt, like many other countries, that it was impossible to stop using such weapons immediately.
China's humanitarian concern was equal to anyone's but account must be taken of legitimate security concerns of countries. By their nature, landmines were defensive weapons. They had long played a role against foreign interventions. The humanitarian question needed urgent solution, but the root causes should be addressed -- the indiscriminate use of old-fashioned landmines and inadequate clearance. The international community should intensify its efforts at mine clearing. If that were not done, it would be no use to talk of a ban of landmines. A hundred bans would not solve the problem. They would still hurt innocent civilians. He said the Conference on Disarmament should be the forum for negotiations on landmines and he was confident that it would be capable of handling the issue. China would support draft resolution L.23 on anti-personnel landmines, but regretted it did not address question of security.
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On the draft relating to the convention against certain conventional weapons, the representative of Swaziland said he would be remiss if he did not support efforts aimed at total eradication of landmines. Countries should never waste resources by stockpiling dangerous weapons. A landmine was a very dangerous weapon, killing and maiming children who even played in areas where mines were emplaced. He fully supported the efforts of the Ottawa process, and would similarly support any disarmament process that aimed to eradicate dangerous weapons.
The draft on the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (A/C.1/52/L.22) was approved without a vote.
The representative of Israel said he had joined consensus on the draft. Israel had ratified the Convention in March 1995, and had participated in the Review Conference which amended Protocol II. It was presently reviewing the revised landmines protocol. Efforts to extend that Convention to as many States as possible, particularly in the region of the Middle East, would be appreciated. While preventing and reducing human suffering by preventing the use of weapons that had indiscriminate effects was essential, so was the need to balance those vital humanitarian concerns with legitimate security concerns.
The representative of Cuba said that he was in favour of the draft and attached great importance to sending a signal concerning conventional weapons, particularly concerning Protocol II of the Convention. It was an instrument which could most effectively deal with the humanitarian problem arising from the indiscriminate use of landmines.
The representative of India, speaking on the draft on conventional arms control at regional and subregional levels, said it suffered from a number of shortcomings. A regional approach must be arrived at freely once there was sufficient confidence. He said the operative paragraph requesting the Conference on Disarmament to formulate principles for regional agreement on conventional arms control was misguided, since it was not the task of the Conference as a negotiating body for global disarmament issues. Another preambular paragraph, on conventional arms control in South Asia, did not reflect the security concerns of all States in the region. He would vote against the draft.
The draft resolution concerning conventional arms control at regional and subregional levels (A/C.1/52/L.40) was approved by a recorded vote of 153 in favour to one against (India) with two abstentions (Cuba and Libya). (See Annex II.)
The representative of Cuba said that he had abstained in the vote. While some of the ideas were quite valid, including the reference to the responsibility of States with the largest military capacity, there were other approaches which he did not share. The question of real participation of all
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States in the regions was not mentioned. The draft omitted that the particular characteristic of each region must be taken into account, and it omitted a reference to global arms reduction, focusing solely on regional arms reduction.
The draft resolution concerning verification in all its aspects, including the role of the United Nations in disarmament (A/C.1/52/L.30) was approved without a vote.
The representative of the Ukraine said he wished to become a co-sponsor of the draft concerning objective information on military matters, including transparency (A/C.1/52/L.31).
That draft was then approved without a vote.
The representative of Pakistan said that he had joined consensus on the draft, although he had certain reservations about its provisions. Greater transparency could not be a substitute for efforts to reduce tensions and resolve conflicts as a means of halting arms races in various parts of the world. Transparency by itself could not lead to the reduction of military expenditures. The basic causes that compelled States to acquire defensive arms and maintain armed forces at certain levels related to their own national and regional security environments. It was those problems which needed to be addressed by the international community in order to halt such arms build-ups.
Furthermore, the specific methodologies for guiding military expenditures were falsely based, he said. Specific budget percentages were meaningless when States were required to maintain armed forces at levels necessary for their self-defence, especially against larger neighbours. Small countries were thus obliged to maintain higher percentages of their budgets. Conventional disarmament, in particular, should be promoted on a more equitable basis by addressing the problem in terms of the men and machines deployed, and the metholodologies for their deployment, and also their state of readiness. Only through such realistic negotiations could balanced reductions be achieved; the approach taken in Europe would have to be followed elsewhere.
The representative of Israel said he had joined the consensus on the draft because it supported measures to curb the arms race, particularly measures dealing with those weapons which were especially destructive and destabilizing. He also supported the reduction of military expenditures. Such measures undertaken in the Middle East had to be dealt with in the context of regional peace; more detailed military reporting required a regional understanding and settlement.
The draft concerning compliance with arms limitations (A/C.1/52/L.33/Rev.2) was approved by the Committee without a vote.
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The representative of China said that he had joined consensus on the draft. With further disarmament and arms control developments, compliance with agreements and the strengthening of the international efforts towards non-proliferation were necessary. The international community welcomed the Treaty on the NPT, the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the chemical weapons Convention and the Protocol strengthening the safeguard measures of the IAEA in part, because they were all concluded with universal support. However, there existed discriminatory and exclusive arrangements of non-proliferation which ran counter to such international legal instruments and inhibited social and economic development. Those arrangements should be rescinded or revamped. The need for compliance by non-members did not actually exist.
(annexes follow)
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First Committee Press Release GA/DIS/3096 19th Meeting (AM) 11 November 1997
ANNEX I
Vote on Prevention of Arms Race in Outer Space
The draft resolution on the prevention of an arms race in outer space (document A/C.1/52/L.19) was approved by a recorded vote of 101 in favour to none against, with 40 abstentions:
In favour: Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Armenia, Australia, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Belarus, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Côte d'Ivoire, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Georgia, Guinea, Guyana, India, Indonesia, Iran, Jamaica, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of the Congo, Russian Federation, Samoa, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syria, Thailand, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zambia.
Against: None.
Abstain: Albania, Andorra, Argentina, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Moldova, Romania, San Marino, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States.
Absent: Afghanistan, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Costa Rica, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Gabon, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea-Bissau, Haiti, Honduras, Jordan, Lesotho, Nigeria, Palau, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Navis, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Senegal, Seychelles, Tajikistan, Tunisia, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Yemen, Zimbabwe.
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(END OF ANNEX I)
First Committee Press Release GA/DIS/3096 19th Meeting (AM) 11 November 1997
ANNEX II
Vote on Conventional Arms Control at Regional Levels
The draft resolution on conventional arms control at regional and subregional levels (document A/C.1/52/L.40) was approved by a recorded vote of 153 in favour to 1 against, with 2 abstentions:
In favour: Albania, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belarus, Belgium, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Botswana, Brazil, Brunei Darussalam, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Denmark, Djibouti, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Finland, France, Gabon, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Grenada, Guinea, Guinea- Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Hungary, Iceland, Indonesia, Iran, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Latvia, Lebanon, Liberia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mexico, Monaco, Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Republic of the Congo, Romania, Russian Federation, Saint Lucia, Samoa, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Sweden, Syria, Tajikistan, Thailand, The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Uganda, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, United Kingdom, United Republic of Tanzania, United States, Uruguay, Venezuela, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe.
Against: India.
Abstain: Cuba, Libya.
Absent: Afghanistan, Belize, Burundi, Cambodia, Cape Verde, Chad, Comoros, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Guatemala, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lesotho, Mauritius, Palau, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Viet Nam.
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