SPECIAL COORDINATOR ON EXPANSION OF MEMBERSHIP OF CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT PRESENTS FINAL REPORT
Press Release
DCF/349
SPECIAL COORDINATOR ON EXPANSION OF MEMBERSHIP OF CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT PRESENTS FINAL REPORT
19980909 Conference Concludes 1998 Session, Adopts Report to General Assembly(Reissued as received.)
GENEVA, 8 September (United Nations Information Services) -- Ambassador Mark Hofer of Switzerland, the Special Coordinator on the expansion of membership of the Conference on Disarmament, this morning presented his final report, saying there was no consensus on admitting Ecuador, Ireland, Kazakstan, Malaysia and Tunisia and recommending that the Conference appoint a Special Coordinator to continue informal consultations on the issue in the 1999 session.
The representatives of Morocco, Norway, Bangladesh, Algeria, Sweden, Turkey, Ireland, Malaysia, Ecuador and Tunisia regretted that the Conference was not in a position to approve its expansion although it was close to reaching a consensus and hoped this decision could be taken at the start of its 1999 session.
The Conference also adopted the final reports of its Ad Hoc Committee established under item 1 of the agenda to negotiate a ban on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons and its Ad Hoc Committee on negative security assurances. The Conference then adopted its annual report to the General Assembly and concluded its 1998 session.
The annual report lists the documents which were presented during the session, as well as developments concerning its agenda items on: cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament; prevention of nuclear war; prevention of an arms race in outer space; effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons; new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons, including radiological weapons; comprehensive programme of disarmament including anti-personnel landmines; transparency in armaments; consideration of other areas dealing with the cessation of the arms race and disarmament; and issues related to the expansion of the membership of the Conference, review of the agenda, and improved and effective functioning of the Conference. (See round-up press release DC/98/43)
The representatives of Slovakia, the United States, and the Russian Federation addressed the meeting. The delegations of New Zealand, on behalf of nine countries, Pakistan and India also intervened on the subject of the adoption of the final report of the Conference on Disarmament.
According to the annual report, the dates for the 1999 session will be from 18 January to 26 March; from 10 May to 25 June; and from 26 July to 8 September. The next public plenary would be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 19 January 1999.
Statements
ERWIN HOFER (Switzerland) presented his report as Special Coordinator on the expansion of membership, stating that throughout its history, the Conference had sought solutions to the dilemma of its limited membership and the universal scope of the legal instruments that emanated from its work by gradually adapting its membership to the new features in political and strategic contexts in order to achieve credibility and political representation.
Mr. Hofer said his work had resulted in several options. One option could be described as "qualified universality", meaning that all State Members of the United Nations and specialized agencies had the right to apply for membership to the Conference. This had received broad support. Other States had supported another option, which constituted admitting the great majority of States which had asked to join the Conference. Others still wanted a combination of the two options. On the basis of these positions, the Special Coordinator drew the provisional and welcome conclusion that there was a consensus on the principle of future expansion, but differences remained on timing, scopes, ways and means of such expansion. The two options were not ripe for the Conference to take a position on, and therefore, the Conference would have to look at them again later.
Mr. Hofer said he also noted an outline of a potential consensus that the Conference could be expanded by the limited number of five States and he had finally arrived to the conclusion that it was possible to form a consensus for such an expansion. This would allow accession to the Conference by one State from each of the following regions: Western Europe, the Commonwealth of Independent States, Africa, Asia and Latin America. There had been a possibility to take the decision to admit Ecuador, Ireland, Kazakstan, Malaysia and Tunisia to the Conference. The possible choice of these five States would in no way prejudice grounds for present or future requests for admission. A positive decision by the Conference to expand would also give a positive political signal within the Conference itself and to all candidate States. However, the President of the Conference had informed the Special Coordinator that while the forum was close to a consensus, it was not in a position to take an operational decision on this. Therefore, Mr. Hofer
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recommended that the Conference appoint a Special Coordinator to continue informal consultations on this issue next year.
The representative of Norway said the question of expansion of the Conference bore great importance to its future. He had heard the statement that the Conference was nearing a possible agreement on expansion of the Conference by five States. He wanted to ask if any delegation could still not agree to this expansion.
NACER BENJELLOUN-TOUIMI (Morocco) proposed that delegations were given time since they might be having difficulty in getting instructions. Since the Conference was near a consensus, he proposed that the body meet at the start of the next session to take a decision on this issue.
IAN SOUTAR (United Kingdom), President of the Conference, confirmed that while the Conference was close to a solution, it was not ready to take an operational decision on its expansion. In response to the request of Norway, he asked regional coordinators if there had been any change in their positions. That did not seem to be the case.
MARIA KRASNOHORSKA (Slovakia) said that as she was leaving Geneva, she would reiterate her country's views on the topics which had been discussed in the Conference this year. Slovakia, as a country using nuclear energy solely for peaceful purposes, attached great importance to both nuclear non- proliferation and nuclear disarmament. Slovakia had signed and ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). It believed that the negotiations on a non-discriminatory, multilateral, internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear devices was the next logical step after the CTBT. Slovakia considered this a prerequisite for strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime and for the eventual achievement of nuclear disarmament.
The prohibition of anti-personnel landmines also occupied the top of the disarmament agenda, Ms. Krasnohorska said. Slovakia noted with satisfaction the increasing number of ratifications of the Ottawa Convention, but at the same time, it also tried to support other activities promoting limitation and prohibition of anti-personnel landmines. The commencement of the negotiations on banning the transfer of landmines in the Conference could be a good step. The two processes were complementary, therefore, Slovakia supported the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee to negotiate a ban on the transfer of anti-personnel landmines in the Conference next year. Slovakia also supported re-establishment of the Ad Hoc Committee on effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. It did not object in principle to the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee on prevention of an arms race in outer space. Slovakia supported further consultations leading to improved and streamlined working
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methods and procedural norms. Finally, Slovakia believed that further expansion of the membership of the Conference may be mutually beneficial for both the new members and the Conference itself.
ROBERT GREY (United States) informed the Conference of the agreements his Government had concluded with the Russian Federation last week during the meeting between their two Presidents in Moscow. Among the historic accords were four that bore directly on the international community's collective efforts to move forward towards disarmament and non-proliferation objectives. The United States and the Russian Federation issued a Joint Statement of Principles dealing with the important issue of managing and reducing stockpiles of plutonium for weapons. The steps the two countries had outlined and the resulting transparency should add impetus to the collective efforts in the Conference next year to negotiate a fissile material cutoff treaty. The two Presidents also signed an agreement committing the two countries to exchange information on launches of ballistic missiles and space-launch vehicles on a continuous basis. As part of this initiative, they had agreed to examine the possibility of establishing a multilateral pre-launch notification regime for ballistic missile and space vehicle launches. The two Presidents had also issued a joint statement expressing strong support for the legally binding Protocol being negotiated to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention. They also announced their commitment to cooperate further on export controls, especially those focused on the technologies and delivery means for weapons of mass destruction.
VASILY SIDOROV (Russian Federation) wished to inform the Conference on the results of the talks held from 1 to 3 September in Moscow by the Presidents of the Russian Federation and the United States. The two Presidents conducted a productive exchange of views on key issues of policy, the common denominator being increasing mutual interaction to enhance stability and security. They resolved to cooperate together, as well as with other States, to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, their production, technology and means of delivery.
Mr. Sidorov said the two Presidents signed a joint statement on the principles of management and disposition of plutonium and issued another joint statement on readiness to exert additional efforts to achieve progress on negotiations to ensure the universality of the Biological Weapons Convention. There was also a joint statement on ballistic missile launch data.
The representative of Kenya noted with satisfaction that some progress had been made in various areas of work within the Conference, notably by the Ad Hoc Committees. In their respective reports, these Ad Hoc Committees had recommended that their mandates be renewed next year. That being the case, Kenya looked forward to the early consolidation of this progress when work resumed next year.
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The representative of Norway said his country was deeply disappointed that the Conference had not been able to make a decision on its expansion this session. The issue of expansion was closely linked to the credibility of the Conference which would benefit from improved representativeness and a larger degree of openness. It was politically unacceptable to continue to exclude countries from membership of the forum. Norway realized that at the beginning, only limited expansion might be possible, therefore, Ambassador Hofer's proposal of five countries was a step in the right direction. This issue must be addressed at the very start of the next session.
The representative of Bangladesh noted the positive atmosphere in the Conference today. There had been some progress in a number of areas, including on the issue of expansion. The five proposed candidates to join the Conference represented an optimal balance. Bangladesh would have liked to see a consensus in the current session and would support any initiative the Presidency took.
The representative of Algeria took note of the report of Ambassador Hofer and appreciated his patience and efforts on this sensitive subject and during the heated debate. Algeria would have really liked to see a new step taken on the path of expansion in order to enshrine the democratization of international relations. Algeria regretted that this had not happened and was disappointed, but it took note of Ambassador Hofer's points and recommendations.
The representative of Sweden thanked Ambassador Hofer for his efforts and expressed regret and disappointment that no decision could be taken today. Sweden shared the feelings expressed by Norway and Bangladesh, and noted that the proposal by Morocco should not be overlooked. Sweden supported this proposal.
The representative of Turkey registered disappointment and regret that the Conference, having come so close to a consensus, could not agree on the expansion. Turkey was confident that the difficulties would be surmounted next year.
The representative of Ireland said she had prepared a script and had hoped, until the last moment, that it would be possible to use it. The script would have been celebratory, but unfortunately it could not be used. After having waited 16 years, it was deeply disappointing to think that now another year had to be wasted. However, Ireland wished to register thanks to Ambassador Hofer who had brought extraordinary commitment to his task, and to the other delegations.
The representative of Malaysia associated himself with the statement by the Ambassador of Ireland. He thanked Ambassador Hofer for his efforts to ensure the application of the five candidates was taken into consideration.
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The representative of Romania expressed his heartfelt gratitude for the words of welcome he had received and was ready to cooperate with all the delegations.
The representative of Ecuador echoed the sentiments expressed by the previous speakers. Ecuador was very sad and this was not a happy moment. It had been looking forward to entry to the Conference on Disarmament, 15 years after it had applied for membership. Ecuador thanked all the delegations which had supported its cause to enter the Conference. Ecuador loved peace and wanted to contribute to the work of the Conference. Ambassador Hofer was to be thanked for his diligent efforts.
The representative of Tunisia said that since representatives of the other countries applying for membership to the Conference had taken the floor, he felt compelled to do the same and to thank the President and Ambassador Hofer for their tireless efforts to propel the expansion of the Conference forward. It was superfluous for Tunisia to express its disappointment and it hoped that this question would be satisfactorily resolved at the outset of the next session.
The representative of New Zealand, speaking on behalf of Australia, Canada, Japan, Ukraine, Hungary, Poland, the Netherlands, Norway and the United States, said they had proposed a paragraph to be introduced to the final report on the deliberations conducted within the Conference on nuclear testing. It was difficult to accept an annual report which did not reflect a critical development which had led to numerous discussions and the presentation of many documents. The above countries greatly regretted this and wanted to put the following comments on the record. There were two factors invoked for rejection of the proposed paragraph. The Conference's rule of consensus was invoked by two delegations and the above countries found this arbitrary use of the consensus rule for such a neutral and factual text difficult to understand. The second factor was far more serious in substance and its implications for the work of the Conference. Alleged importance was given to precedents, claiming that since there was no precedent to dealing with this kind of issue in the final report, the Conference could not do so. The above mentioned countries found this very disturbing. They wished to renew their condemnation of all nuclear testing; to regret the inability of the Conference to deal factually with important developments; to record that the only basis for their acceptance of the annual report was the invocation by two delegations of the consensus rule; and to reject any assertion of 'precedent' as a basis for preventing or precluding the inclusion of factual references in the report.
The representative of Pakistan said he was obliged to take the floor as a result of the statement that had just been made. Pakistan rejected this statement on both procedural and substance grounds. It reflected a position of chronic discrimination. Pakistan had not agreed to the proposal to add the
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paragraph for the following reasons. The format of the report of the Conference to the General Assembly had always been factual and had not summarized statements, debates or various other issues, whether global or regional. The reports of the Conference of 1995 and 1996 did not refer to the statements made by delegations in the Conference on nuclear tests conducted by nuclear weapon States. Pakistan did not accept the distinction that was just compounded by the Ambassador of New Zealand that some nuclear tests were more acceptable than others.
He said his country did not accept that there were only five legitimate nuclear weapon States. Pakistan and any other country had the equal right to security, and would continue to carry out whatever steps were needed as long as threats existed. Pakistan did not accept that the five nuclear weapon States would tell others what to do. Pakistan was not a country which had allowed nuclear testing on its soil, or supplied uranium for nuclear weapons. Yet those countries now assumed a morality and preached to others. Pakistan was not a country which had supplied a research reactor to a neighbour despite warnings that this would be used to produce fissile weapons. Yet those same countries lectured others today. Pakistan did not accept such moralizing, rejected it totally and would continue to do so strongly.
In conclusion, he said the statement by New Zealand was the epitome of discrimination which the Third World had been long subjected to. Pakistan did not accept discrimination, moralizing or coercion.
The representative of India regretted the statement on behalf of a number of countries which came at a juncture when the Conference was about to adopt its annual report and all delegations had showed good will. India's nuclear tests were conducted for reasons of national security, similar to those invoked by others when they conducted tests. No international law had been violated and India could not accept distinction between tests. India had announced a moratorium on further nuclear explosive tests and its commitment to nuclear disarmament remained undiminished and unaltered.
Mr. Soutar said the annual report stated that in order to promote substantive progress during its 1999 session, the Conference requested the current President and the incoming President to conduct appropriate consultations during the intercessional period and make recommendations, if possible, that could help to commence early work on various agenda items. He wished to make it clear that during the intercessional period, the Presidency would take up the request of the delegation of Egypt to issue a document compiling documents related to nuclear disarmament.
Mr. Soutar said his main task had been to oversee the process of adopting the annual report of the Conference. He was grateful to all for their assistance. The contrast between the annual report of last year and this year could not fail to be noticed. This year, the Conference was able to
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establish two Ad Hoc Committees, however their work had only just begun. In their reports, both Ad Hoc Committees recommended they be re-established next session. The six Special Coordinators had also been active and had also expressed the hope that the positions be re-established next session. Delegations had especially expressed the desire that work on the expansion of the Conference commence at the start of the next session. More work needed to be done on nuclear disarmament. The President's task was not finished, and he looked forward to holding appropriate consultations to help the Conference commence its work immediately in 1999 under the Presidency of Robert Grey of the United States who would take over on 1 January 1999.
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