DISARMAMENT COMMITTEE OPENS GENERAL DEBATE 12 OCTOBER, WITH FOCUS ON NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION, SMALL ARMS

9 October 1998

Press Release
GA/DIS/3106

DISARMAMENT COMMITTEE OPENS GENERAL DEBATE 12 OCTOBER, WITH FOCUS ON NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION, SMALL ARMS

19981009 Background Release Nuclear Disarmament Debate Given Renewed Intensity Following Nuclear Tests by India and Pakistan in May

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) meets on Monday, 12 October, to begin its general debate on a wide range of disarmament initiatives, among them nuclear non-proliferation, curtailing the traffic in small arms and eliminating chemical and biological weapons, while defining the role of the United Nations in the disarmament process.

The Committee begins its debate at a time when the attention of the world is focused on disarmament issues with particular intensity due to the underground nuclear tests conducted by India and Pakistan in May. As Secretary-General Kofi Annan said, those tests tipped "the balance on which the nuclear-non-proliferation regime rested" and dealt a serious setback to decades of international effort aimed at disarmament and non-proliferation.

Immediately following each country's tests, the Security Council unanimously deplored them, strongly urged those countries to refrain from any further testing and appealed to India and Pakistan to become parties to the 1970 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) without delay and without conditions. The Director-General of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) warned that such testing could lead to a dangerous arms race and call into question the basic principles of non-proliferation.

Members of the Conference on Disarmament, which is the sole multilateral disarmament negotiating forum, echoed the Council's appeal. At a special meeting of the Conference in early June, 46 member States and observers described the tests as "provocative and dangerous", and warned that they threatened to undermine the disarmament process and the goal of eliminating nuclear weapons. They said it was crucial that they renounce their nuclear weapons programmes and sign and ratify, unconditionally, the CTBT -- which was negotiated in the Conference -- and accede, without delay, to the NPT.

One week later, the Foreign Ministers of eight countries -- Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia, South Africa and

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Sweden -- issued a joint declaration aimed at forging a new agenda for a nuclear-weapon-free world. They stressed that the nuclear-weapon States should immediately abandon present "hair-trigger" postures by deactivating their nuclear weapons, and they called upon the "three nuclear-weapon-capable States" (India, Israel and Pakistan) to clearly and urgently reverse the pursuit of their nuclear weapons development or deployment, and refrain from any actions which could undermine global nuclear disarmament efforts.

When the Secretary-General's Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters met in June, many of its expert members expressed the view that whatever the international community did in response to the tests, it should not reward, or be perceived as rewarding, behaviour that was contrary to the accepted international non-proliferation norms. The Board urged the Secretary-General to explore the ways in which India and Pakistan could adhere to the CTBT. Joining the Treaty before the Conference of States parties in 1999, for example, would ensure their full participation in that meeting.

Equally pressing, according to the Board, were the "acute difficulties" over the relationship among India, Pakistan and the NPT. On the one hand, recognizing them as nuclear-weapon States would undermine the assumption upon which that Treaty and the non-proliferation regime was based, namely that there would and should be no further nuclear-weapon States. On the other hand, urging India and Pakistan to accede to the Treaty as non-nuclear-weapon States was unrealistic and could fuel their perception of the Treaty as discriminatory.

As the General Assembly convened in September, both countries used the forum to attempt to ease the widespread international concern. In a statement to the Assembly on 23 September, the Prime Minister of Pakistan announced his country's intention to accede to the CTBT. The next day, the Prime Minister of India told the Assembly that his Government would not delay the entry into force of the CTBT beyond September 1999. [According to article 14 of that Treaty, entry into force requires ratification by 44 States, including India, Israel and Pakistan].

While the Committee will give the nuclear question heightened attention because of India and Pakistan, conventional weapons have been subject to increasing international concern in recent years and the Secretary-General has described the need for curtailing their flow as "urgent". Small arms and light weapons were the primary tool of violence with which most wars were fought today, and their impact has been devastating, he said.

At the request of the General Assembly, a global panel of governmental experts on small arms met for the second time in three years to assist the Secretary-General in addressing the challenge. Among their findings, they unanimously concluded that, in many cases, neither the manufacturer, the supplier, nor the buyer of those weapons has a say in their ultimate use.

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Indeed, those weapons keep changing hands within and among societies exposed to violence. They recommended the convening of an international conference on all aspects of the illicit arms trade. The Committee is expected to produce a draft resolution calling for the conference as early as the year 2000.

In a related initiative, the newly re-established United Nations Department of Disarmament Affairs has created a mechanism for coordinating action on small arms, designed to draw together the arms control, humanitarian and developmental concerns over small arms into a coherent policy. Broader political support was sought at a ministerial-level meeting in September, organized by Norway and Canada. As part of a new "Oslo process", the meeting sought to raise the political profile of small arms to the level of a global agenda item.

The Committee is also expected to debate the two approaches to the landmine question. The instrument to which the major users and producers adhere -- namely Protocol II of the 1980 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 (Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons) -- is a partial ban, which prohibits only those landmines that do not have self-neutralizing devices. On the other hand, the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (Ottawa treaty), which is a comprehensive ban, has not secured the support of critical countries, such as China, Russian Federation and the United States. Those countries cite national security concerns, as well as shortcomings in the Convention itself.

[Protocol II of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which was negotiated in the Conference on Disarmament, is expected to enter into force in December 1998. The Ottawa treaty will enter into force in March 1999.]

With the entry into force in 1997 of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention), the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) responsible for implementing the complex verification mechanism of that treaty. A ceremony in May marked the official opening of the organization's headquarters at The Hague. To date, 118 States have ratified or acceded to the Convention. Nine of them have provided the OPCW with information on past or existing chemical weapons programmes. The OPCW has completed more than 200 inspections and has witnessed the destruction of more than 1,400 metric tons of nerve agents.

Meanwhile, the States parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (Biological Weapons Convention) have intensified efforts to forge a consensus behind a Protocol that would

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establish effective verification and compliance. That historic treaty, which outlawed, for the first time, an entire category of weapons of mass destruction, has been in force for more than 25 years without a formal system of verification. That situation was described at an informal ministerial meeting of the States parties in September as "unfinished business ... that can wait no longer".

Among other items, the Committee will consider reports of the Conference on Disarmament and Disarmament Commission, the report of the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, and reports on the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, all of which will be considered in light of the Secretary-General's statement that disarmament was central to the Organization's pursuit of international security.

Reports before Committee

The Committee will have before it the annual report of the Conference on Disarmament (document A/53/27), which ended its 1998 session in September. The items it considered at that session were: cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament; prevention of nuclear war; prevention of an arms race in outer space; assurances to 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 those weapons; a comprehensive programme of disarmament; anti-personnel landmines; and transparency in armaments.

In order to further its examination of those items, the Conference appointed three Special Coordinators to consider the item on anti-personnel landmines, the prevention of an arms race in outer space and transparency in armaments. Three other Special Coordinators were appointed in order to consider the improvement and effective functioning of the Conference, and to review the agenda and the possible expansion of its membership.

The report states that while cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament was accorded "an extremely high priority", wide-ranging and substantiative consultations on the matter were inconclusive. To further its nuclear-related negotiations, the Conference established, for the first time, an ad hoc committee to begin negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. No substantive discussions were held, but its re-establishment was recommended for the start of the 1999 session.

It re-established an ad hoc committee to negotiate security assurances for non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. The Conference reaffirmed that, pending the complete and effective elimination of nuclear weapons, non-nuclear-weapon States should be effectively assured by the nuclear-weapon States in that regard. Members

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recommended the re-establishment of the committee at the start of its next session.

The Conference, in its report, recognized the importance that members attached to the question of an expanded membership. Continued importance was also given to the review of its agenda, as well as to its improved and effective functioning. It was decided that the dates for its 1999 session would be: 18 January to 26 March; 10 May to 25 June; and 26 July to 8 September.

The Conference is the sole multilateral negotiating body on disarmament. Over the years, it has produced a number of important disarmament agreements. Those include the 1963 Treaty Banning Nuclear Weapon Tests in the Atmosphere, in Outer Space and Under Water (partial test ban treaty) and the 1968 NPT. Other instruments include the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention, and the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, as well as the 1971 Treaty on the Prohibition of the Emplacement of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction on the Seabed and the Ocean Floor and in the Subsoil Thereof (Seabed Treaty). While it was unable to achieve consensus on the CTBT -- which is required in the Conference -- the Treaty adopted by the General Assembly in 1996 was identical to the version negotiated in the Conference.

The Committee will also have before it, the annual report of the Disarmament Commission (document A/53/42), which is a specialized deliberative body of the General Assembly. During its 1998 session, the Commission considered the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, the proposed special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, and guidelines on conventional arms control, limitation and disarmament. The report contains the reports of the three working groups on those topics.

The report of the working group on nuclear-weapon-free zones is based on a wide range of working papers, which will be forwarded to the 1999 substantive session of the Commission for further analysis. It contains a working paper from the group's Chairman which highlights the successes of existing zones, and defines the prerequisites for their creation -- namely that they should derive from arrangements freely arrived at among the States of the region concerned, and originate solely from those States; and take into account all relevant specific characteristics of the region. It also reviews regional initiatives aimed at their establishment in the Middle East, in South Asia and Central Asia, as well as Mongolia.

The second working group reports that despite its third and final year of consideration of the proposed fourth special session of the Assembly devoted to disarmament, it had not been possible to reach consensus on the objectives and agenda of such a session. The Chairman's paper, which identifies objectives and makes recommendations on the agenda, is annexed to the report for possible consideration by the Assembly when it takes up that

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issue. The Commission considered the paper to be a constructive attempt to bridge the gap in the positions.

The report of the working group on guidelines on conventional arms control, limitation and disarmament expresses the group's hope that it will be able to complete the guidelines in 1999, when it considers that issue for the third time. The group Chairman's paper states that the conventional arms control guidelines -- which are neither mandatory nor prescriptive and are to be adopted by consensus -- should emphasize the consolidation of peace in post-conflict situations, while promoting peace and stability generally. In addition, they should emphasize the importance of a coordinated approach between practical disarmament measures and the broader economic, political, social and humanitarian aspects of post-conflict rehabilitation.

The proposal by the Commission Chairman for revitalizing, rationalizing and streamlining that body's work was approved by the Assembly on 8 September. Under that proposal, from the year 2000, the Commission's agenda will comprise two agenda items per year, including one on nuclear disarmament and its substantive session will be reduced from five weeks to three weeks.

The report on the Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters (document A/53/222) covers the work of the Board's thirtieth and thirty-first sessions, held in Geneva from 16 to 18 March, and in New York from 29 June to 1 July. The Board is a group of eminent persons and scholars who meet annually to advise the Secretary-General on studies concerning disarmament and arms limitation. It was established in 1978 by the General Assembly at its tenth special session.

The report first reviews the results of the thirty-first session, at which the Secretary-General posed the following three questions: What more could he or the United Nations do in the wake of the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan? What could be done to better prepare for the third session of the Preparatory Committee in 1999 for the 2000 Review Conference of the States parties to the NPT? What should be done to secure agreement on holding the fourth special session on disarmament, in the light of the inability of the Disarmament Commission, after its third and final year of consideration, to reach agreement on its objectives and agenda?

To the question concerning the nuclear testing by India and Pakistan, the Board overwhelmingly believed -- with a notable reservation by one member who felt that the question should be addressed in the context of global nuclear disarmament -- that the Secretary-General was pursuing the appropriate course with respect to the security situation in South Asia. It encouraged him to continue consulting the States in the region and promoting a dialogue between India and Pakistan.

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Most members felt that in order for non-proliferation efforts in South Asia and elsewhere to be effective, the nuclear-weapon States should speed up the nuclear disarmament process. One member urged the Secretary-General to make more focused efforts to persuade nuclear-weapon States in that direction. Indeed, it was suggested that nuclear-weapon States could make the same commitment that India and Pakistan have made to keep their programmes at the lowest possible levels.

Replying to the Secretary-General's question about how he can better prepare the ground for the third session of the Preparatory Committee, members emphasized that the current stalemate in nuclear disarmament efforts needed to be "jump-started" in some way. In order to break the "deadlock", one member suggested a world conference devoted solely to nuclear disarmament. Other members felt that the issue could not be dealt with in isolation.

To the question about securing agreement on the convening of a fourth special session on disarmament, the Board noted that the call for the session was a response to the current stalemate in the nuclear disarmament process. Some members felt that the tests by India and Pakistan had highlighted the need for the session and, overall, the Board was not as divided on the question as it had been. Even those with prior reservations recognized the strong need to reassess the disarmament situation and formulate a new vision for multilateral disarmament. Disagreements persisted among them, however, on the objectives and agenda of the session.

The Board also considered conventional weapons with the discussion focused on "the great potential" that existed for the United Nations to control the proliferation of small arms, and to assist in post-conflict peace consolidation in the areas of disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of former combatants. The Board's current Chairman, who is also the Chairman of the Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms, said that the Panel's recommendation to convene an international conference on illicit trafficking in small arms in the year 2000 was gaining support.

In addition to responding to the Secretary-General's questions, the Board examined three topics it deemed to be of "acute interest" to multilateral disarmament efforts: a new disarmament agenda; new technologies and their impact on disarmament; and the costs of disarmament.

In considering a new disarmament agenda, a discussion paper prepared by one of the Board members recommended the development of a long-term multidimensional strategy to achieve a sustainable nuclear-weapon-free world. The strategy would take into account the full complexity of the issues and seek the cooperation of the nuclear-weapon States. A paper on new technologies and their impact on disarmament used as examples, information warfare, satellite technology and laser technology for defence research. The

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Board decided that it should continue to consider the issue in an attempt to address questions on the potential new weapons and future forms of warfare.

A paper on the costs of disarmament highlighted the problems faced by certain States and by the world community in funding elaborate verification mechanisms, fulfilling cost-intensive treaty obligations and ensuring membership in relevant international organizations. It cited, as an example, the Russian Federation's difficulties in dismantling conventional weapons under the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty), disassembling strategic nuclear weapons and disposing of fissile material under the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START Treaty), as well as destroying stocks of chemical weapons under the Chemical Weapons Convention.

In his report on the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East (document A/53/379), the Secretary-General strongly urges all concerned parties to review the situation and to resume discussions towards the expeditious establishment of a common position. He attaches particular importance to the issue, and regrets that no positive developments had occurred in its consideration and that the overall political situation in the region has not served to further advance the peace process.

The report on the role of science and technology in the context of international security and disarmament (document A/53/202) provides an update by the scientific experts who first prepared a report on the subject in 1990. The present report assesses broad new disarmament trends in the context of the changed security landscape. While the experts point to nuclear-related advances, their conclusions focus on biological weapons security and arms control. They highlight the responsibility of governments to counter those threats, as well as the usefulness of molecular biology in detecting illicit biological weapons development and speedily determining the outbreaks of disease.

A report of the Secretary-General on curbing the illicit traffic in small arms and collecting them (document A/53/207) draws attention to several initiatives undertaken at all levels to address the issue. Among them, the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) was drafting a declaration of a voluntary moratorium on the manufacture, import and export of light weapons in West Africa. That measure would include such weapons as handguns, rifles, machine guns, landmines and grenades. No such initiative had previously been attempted on a subregional basis.

The report also notes the establishment of a thematic subgroup of the Security Council's ad hoc working group established to review the Secretary-General's recommendations on peace and security measures in Africa (document A/52/871-S/1998/318). The thematic subgroup will make proposals aimed at urgently addressing the question of arms flow and defining the role of the United Nations in compiling, tracking and publicizing that information.

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The working group will then submit specific proposals to the Council by September.

The report also contains requests from Niger and Albania for United Nations assistance in curbing the illicit circulation of small arms and to collect such arms. It also reviews the July meeting held in Oslo, Norway on small arms and light weapons, which acknowledged the global role of the United Nations, especially in the context of the Panel of Governmental Experts on Small Arms and the Group of Governmental Experts on Small Arms.

A report on small arms (document A/53/169) contains replies received from several Governments in response to a request by the Secretary-General that they share their views on last year's report on small arms (A/52/298), and on steps they had taken to implement its recommendations. Most of the replies support the convening of an international conference on the illicit arms trade.

A report on the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (document A/53/334) is the sixth consolidated report issued by the Secretary-General since the Register's establishment in 1992. It contains data and information provided by 92 governments on imports and exports of the seven categories of conventional arms covered by the Register, namely battle tanks, armoured combat vehicles, large-calibre artillery systems, attack helicopters, combat aircraft, warships, missiles and missile launchers.

The report includes, for the first time, additional information provided by governments on procurement from national production and military holdings. It also contains background information regarding their military holdings, procurement through national production and relevant policies. In accordance with a General Assembly resolution adopted at its last session, the report attaches the views of governments on ways and means of enhancing transparency in the field of weapons of mass destruction, with a view to enhancing transparency in conventional weapons.

A report on objective information on military matters, including transparency of military expenditures (document A/53/218) concerns the United Nations standardized reporting instrument for military expenditures. Member States are supposed to report their military spending on a yearly basis to the Secretary-General, who would submit annual reports on the data to the Assembly. The information received from 27 countries is included in the report.

The major purpose of the reporting instrument, which was developed in 1980, is to facilitate the reduction of military expenditures and build confidence by increasing transparency. Although military expenditures have decreased significantly in many countries during the 17 years of its

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operation -- owing in large part to the end of the cold war -- the reporting instrument did not contribute directly to that outcome, the report states. Similarly, its contribution as a confidence-building measure or to improved governance had been modest and participation in the system had been low.

The report on the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (document A/53/159) provides information about the status of the Convention and its Protocols. As at 15 June, 71 States had joined the Convention and at least two of its Protocols. The amended Protocol II -- Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices -- had received 19 of its required 20 notifications of consent for its entry into force. Protocol IV -- Blinding Laser Weapons -- was expected to enter into force on 30 July 1998, six months after the receipt of 20 notifications of consent.

According to a report on the Standing Advisory Committee on security in Central Africa (document A/53/369), the Committee seeks United Nations support for the following initiatives: to organize joint military manoeuvres among the countries of Central Africa in order to reinforce their peacekeeping capacity; to assist them, along with the Organization of African Unity (OAU), in setting up an early warning system in Libreville, Gabon; to help organize training seminars; and to assist those countries in demining efforts, as well as with the reintegration of former combatants into civil society.

The Secretary-General has submitted two reports on the United Nations Regional Centres for Peace and Disarmament. The report on the Regional Centre in Africa (document A/53/348) covers the period from July 1996 to June 1998, during which the Centre continued to promote wider understanding and cooperation among African States in the areas of peace, disarmament and security, despite severe financial restraints. The Secretary-General expresses his strong support for the Centre's activities and he reiterates the appeals made by the Assembly for voluntary contributions.

Similarly, the report on the Regional Centre in Asia and the Pacific (document A/53/323), which covers the period from August 1997 to July 1998, finds that the Centre was able to organize two major meetings at Jakarta and Kathmandu respectively, as well as other activities, within limited financial resources. Owing to persistent and serious financial constraints, however, it had been impossible to recruit any local support staff. For that reason, the Director will continue to operate from United Nations Headquarters until additional financing is found.

A report on the United Nations Disarmament Fellowship Training and Advisory Services (document A/53/426) contains the names and nationalities of the 24 fellowships awarded in 1997 and in 1998. The current year marks the twentieth anniversary of the fellowship, which was launched by the General Assembly at its tenth special session in 1978 to promote expertise in disarmament in more Member States, particularly in developing countries.

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In a report on the United Nations Disarmament Information Programme (document A/53/161 and Corr.1), the Secretary-General states that while the traditional information activities were carried out during the period under review from 1 July 1996 to 30 June 1998, owing to persistent staffing constraints, the publications programme was reduced and the development of the electronic medium proceeded more slowly than had been hoped. The re-establishment of the Department of Information Affairs was expected to reinvigorate the Programme's information and outreach activities, whose priority areas were weapons of mass destruction, conventional weapons, and regional approaches to disarmament.

In a report on the relationship between disarmament and development (document A/53/206), the Secretary-General reviews the implementation of the action programme adopted by the International Conference on the Relationship between Disarmament and Development, held at Headquarters in 1987.

Addendum to a report on the observance of environmental norms in disarmament and arms control agreements (document A/53/158/Add.1 and Add.2) contains information received from the Governments of Cuba, Mexico and Viet Nam.

A report on the prevention of an arms race on the sea-bed and the ocean floor and the subsoil thereof (document A/53/160), contains replies received from governments in accordance with the Secretary-General's request for information from States parties to the Seabed Treaty. The replies concern verification of compliance with the Treaty and of dual-use technologies.

The Committee will also have before it several additional notes of the Secretary-General, as follow: the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in South Asia (document A/53/209); the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (document A/53/187) which transmits the report of the Director for the period July 1997 to June 1998; the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice concerning the legality of the threat or use of nuclear weapons (document A/53/208); measures to uphold the authority of the 1925 Geneva Protocol (document A/53/303); and the prevention of the violent disintegration of States (document A/53/333).

A note on notification of nuclear tests (document A/53/427) contains nuclear test data detected by Australia. Last May, when India and Pakistan announced they had detonated three and five nuclear explosions respectively, Australia detected only one seismic signal, indicating that all explosions were detonated simultaneously or that only one was large enough to be recorded.

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