INCREASED TRANSPARENCY IN CONVENTIONAL ARMS STRESSED IN DISARMAMENT COMMITTEE
Press Release
GA/DIS/3117
INCREASED TRANSPARENCY IN CONVENTIONAL ARMS STRESSED IN DISARMAMENT COMMITTEE
19981021 Speakers Cite Weaknesses in UN Register As Committee Concludes General Disarmament DebateAs the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) concluded its general debate this morning, several speakers called for increased transparency in conventional arms and expressed their concern about the limitations of existing instruments designed to promote it.
The representative of the Sudan warned that large supplies of conventional weapons, especially in Africa, were winding up in rebel hands and destabilizing entire nations. Unfortunately, at the same time the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms lacked transparency. Moreover, its scope, which was presently limited to a number of categories of conventional armaments, should be expanded to include data relating to all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, as well as the military applications of sophisticated technologies.
The representative of Syria agreed that, regrettably, the Register lacked transparency, which was essential to promoting peace and security. Moreover, it did not take into account the delicate Middle East situation, which lacked a qualitative balance in the field of armaments. He also called for its inclusion of information about all weapons of mass destruction, as well as detailed data on national military production.
While comprehensive transparency of armaments was urgently needed, the representative of Georgia said that the complexity of the situation in his country had made it virtually impossible to devise a mechanism that could control the influx of conventional arms or monitor their illegal trafficking and unveil information about existing stockpiles. When confronted by lawlessness, the trafficking in radioactive, chemical and biological materials was all the more urgent and worrisome.
The representative of Zambia expressed concern that the excessive accumulations of conventional weapons had taken conventional warfare to new
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levels, spawning conflicts of titanic proportions. The African nations, in particular, had suffered greatly in that regard. The increasing participation of children in armed conflict called for a timely international response.
Statements were also made by the representatives of Nepal and Cyprus. The following representatives spoke in exercise of the right of reply: Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Israel, Turkey, Republic of Korea, Syria and Cyprus.
The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. Thursday, 22 October, to begin an exchange of views on the rationalization of its work and reform of its agenda.
Committee Work Programme
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) met this morning to conclude its general debate on a wide range of disarmament initiatives and a number of international disarmament agreements.
The Committee is also expected to take up the role of the Conference on Disarmament, which is the sole multilateral disarmament negotiating forum. Discussion is likely to focus on the recent establishment in the Conference of two ad hoc committees on: security assurances to non-nuclear weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons; and banning the production of fissile material for weapons purposes.
Among the nuclear disarmament issues under review is the adoption in 1996 of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). Although the Treaty was negotiated in the Conference, consensus was not achieved. The Treaty subsequently adopted by the General Assembly was identical to the version negotiated in the Conference. The CTBT requires ratification by 44 States listed in its annex, including India, Israel and Pakistan.
Other treaties negotiated in the Disarmament Conference include the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention), which entered into force on 29 April 1997. Its complex verification mechanism will be implemented by the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW). The Conference also concluded negotiations on the instrument governing biological weapons, namely the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (Biological Weapons Convention).
The Committee is also expected to review the implementation of the principles and objectives of nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament that were adopted at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The underground nuclear tests conducted last Spring by India and Pakistan have raised serious concerns about the future of the Treaty and the non-proliferation regime overall.
The establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones will be another focus of the debate. The zones already in existence are governed by: the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco); the South Pacific Nuclear-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga); the South-East Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Bangkok); and the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Pelindaba). Committee drafts are anticipated for the establishment of such zones in the Middle East, Central Europe and South Asia.
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Bilateral agreements negotiated between the United States and the Russian Federation aimed at nuclear disarmament will also be considered, including the Treaty on the Reduction and Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms (START). While reductions of nuclear weapons were proceeding under START I, the entry into force of START II had been delayed pending ratification by the Russian Federation. The Committee is also expected to review agreements between those two countries on the demarcation between strategic and non-strategic anti-ballistic missile systems, which sought to strengthen the Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and provide new opportunities to work together to reduce their nuclear weapons stocks.
Discussion will continue on the subject of landmines, in the context of the two instruments to ban or limit their use. The first was Protocol II of the Convention on the 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), a partial ban negotiated in the Conference on Disarmament. The Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti- Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (Ottawa Convention), a total ban, was agreed to in Oslo as part of the so-called "Ottawa process" and will enter into force on 1 March 1999.
Other matters to be discussed include the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, as well as regional transparency and confidence-building measures, such as the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms. The role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will be discussed in the context of the international non-proliferation regime.
(For detailed background, see Press Release GA/DIS/3106 issued 9 October.)
Statements
ELFATIH MOHAMED AHMED ERWA (Sudan) said that his country had welcomed international initiatives aimed at eliminating nuclear weapons, but much remained to be done. Serious negotiations on nuclear disarmament should be undertaken in conformity with the provisions of the 1978 final document of the tenth special session of the General Assembly, and the first devoted to disarmament. A fourth special session would allow the international community to review its implementation and present recommendations to address the current challenges.
He said his country had supported all international efforts aimed at banning anti-personnel landmines, being one of the first to sign the Ottawa Convention. That had been an indication of its strong conviction of the need to prevent the human, social and economic tragedies those weapons caused. His country was one of the African countries that had suffered most from the dangers of landmines. Those weapons had prevented assistance from reaching
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victims and impeded the return of more than 2 million displaced persons. The voluntary fund to assist Sudan in that regard was still awaiting financing. He hoped the donor community would respond.
He said his country also attached special importance to curbing the flow of conventional weapons, especially in Africa, whose conventional weapons were winding up in rebel hands. That trafficking needed to be stopped, as it was violating human rights and destabilizing entire nations. States had the right to use conventional weapons to defend their borders and national territory. The solution, therefore, did not lie in controlling the traffic of those weapons, but in addressing the causes of the conflicts. Thus, any initiatives should take into account the specific nature of each region.
Transparency in conventional weapons was the primary tool for the consolidation of peace and stability, he said. Unfortunately, the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms lacked transparency. Moreover, its scope should be expanded to include data relating to weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, as well as the military applications of sophisticated technologies.
He added that the Register also failed to take into account the situation in the Middle East, where Israel still occupied Arab and Palestinian territories and possessed the most destructive weapons. Indeed, Israel was the only State in the region not a party to the NPT. Moreover, it had resisted attempts to create a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East and it had rejected international appeals to accede to the NPT and to subject its nuclear facilities to the safeguards system of the IAEA.
He said that on 20 August, one of Sudan's pharmaceutical factories was destroyed by the United States, under the pretext that the factory was producing substances that could be used for the production of chemical weapons. That action was a unilateral and illogical measure on the part of the United States. The Committee heard an address by the Director of the OPCW, in which he said that the United States -- which possessed the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world -- had not conformed with the provisions of that Convention, and it was refusing to subject its chemical industry to inspection.
His country had repeatedly denounced that "double standard", he said. Also, while a pharmaceutical factory was destroyed in a developing nation under a false pretext, Israel was transferring illegal substances that could be used in the production of nerve gases. In that instance, there had been no reaction, not even to verify the assertions, despite the dangers of the situation.
HUMPHREY B. KUNDA (Zambia), said the total elimination of nuclear weapons was the bedrock of international peace and security. For non-nuclear- weapon States, the urgency of ridding the world of nuclear weapons was a real
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and demanding preoccupation. Unfortunately, nuclear-weapon States did not share that urgency, because nuclear weapons still constituted the cornerstone of their foreign policies. That meant that cold war paradigms were still alive and well, which negated the proclamations of nuclear-weapon States regarding their commitment to general and complete disarmament.
He was concerned about the reluctance of the nuclear-weapon States to negotiate nuclear disarmament in the Conference on Disarmament, he continued. They opted, instead, for bilateral negotiations, away from global scrutiny. The international community, through the broad-based membership of the Conference must be involved in negotiating a convention to ban nuclear weapons. His Government believed that the time-bound framework proposed by the Group of 21 in the Conference represented a realistic approach, which could serve as a useful guideline for future negotiations on nuclear disarmament.
He said the indefinite extension of the NPT and the adoption of the CTBT were significant developments that could consolidate the non-proliferation regime. The CTBT, however, had a serious shortcoming, because it did not cover testing through technical means or computer simulation. If one country conducted a simulated nuclear weapon test, all the other nuclear-weapon States could follow suit. That was the rule of law among nuclear-weapon States. The world now had "five plus two" nuclear weapon Powers, following the nuclear tests by India and Pakistan. South Asia was now a theatre of nuclear weapons confrontation, posing additional threats to international peace and security.
He said the consideration of a fissile material cut-off treaty by the Conference was a course of action that could maintain momentum towards complete and general disarmament. His country hoped that any such treaty would not fail to include all fissile materials, including existing stockpiles. Otherwise, another loophole would be created. Another issue that was ripe for negotiations was security guarantees by nuclear-weapon States to non-nuclear-weapon States. By foregoing the possession of nuclear weapons, the non-nuclear-weapon States made a huge contribution to international peace and security and they, therefore, deserved to be under the umbrella of an international agreement.
His Government supported the creation of nuclear-weapon-free zones. Those zones played a major role in strengthening the non-proliferation regime. The four zones already in existence had a promise of making the entire southern hemisphere free of nuclear weapons. More zones should be established in the Middle East and in Central Asia. He added that the time was now overdue for the convening of a fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament. That was imperative for mapping out a disarmament strategy for the next century.
His country was also concerned about the proliferation of conventional weapons, especially small arms and light weapons, he continued. Those weapons
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had taken conventional warfare to new levels, spawning conflicts and suffering of titanic proportions. The continent of Africa, in particular, had greatly suffered the consequences of that proliferation, evidenced by the widespread fratricidal wars and violence. The increasing participation of children in those conflicts was particularly worrying. A timely international response to the problem of small arms was, therefore, essential.
His Government, he said, welcomed the fortieth ratification of the Ottawa Convention, paving the way for its entry into force. The speed of the ratification process demonstrated the strength of the international resolve to rid the world of landmines. His delegation hoped that it would be possible to make the implementation of the Convention universal.
KAMAL KOIRALA (Nepal) said the Committee was meeting against the background of some positive developments relative to the global disarmament agenda. Among those were the imminent coming into force of the Ottawa Convention and the ad hoc committees created by the Conference on Disarmament to negotiate a fissile material cut-off treaty and security assurances to non- nuclear-weapon states.
Still, he continued, the overall picture was gloomy, due to the lack of political will to agree on a time-bound elimination of nuclear weapons. Those weapons continued to pose a threat to the survival of mankind and the time had come for a universal and legally binding Convention banning them. "The recent nuclear tests conducted in our region have reminded us that the international community cannot remain complacent in the field of nuclear disarmament", he added.
Any treaty regime on fissile materials must consider existing stockpiles of weapons-grade fissionable materials, he said. His country was concerned that there were 2,000 metric tons of plutonium and highly enriched uranium in current stockpiles -- enough to build 100,000 nuclear warheads. Therefore, the effectiveness of such a treaty would be undermined, if existing stockpiles were ignored.
He said his Government welcomed the speedy ratification process of the Ottawa Convention. That instrument should give momentum to international efforts towards mine clearance. In that context, assistance to landmine victims and the development of technology for mine detection should remain a global concern.
The disarmament process should consider both large and small weapons, he said. The proliferation of small arms and light weapons was a matter of serious concern, as small arms had increasingly become the primary instrument of violence in conflicts. Noteworthy developments in that regard included the moratorium that the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) had placed on the trade and manufacture of small arms and the Inter-American Convention against the Illicit Manufacturing of, and Trafficking in, Fire
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Arms, Munitions, Explosives and Other Related Materials. Far more concerted efforts at the international level were required, however, to contain the problem.
He noted that the United Nations regional centres for peace and disarmament were useful for creating awareness about the global disarmament process. One of those centres, addressing Asia and the Pacific, was located in Nepal. His Government urged Member States of the Asia-Pacific region to make greater use of the centre's facilities.
KHALIL ABOU-HADID (Syria) said that the Committee was meeting amid increased calls for the comprehensive and complete elimination of all weapons of mass destruction, in particular, nuclear weapons. Those weapons -- unparalleled in their destructive capability -- had continued to proliferate after the end of the end of the cold war, and had now reached India and Pakistan. As his Foreign Minister had said, that proliferation had acquired a certain degree of legitimacy after a blind eye was turned on Israel's acquisition of nuclear weapons when the NPT was indefinitely extended in 1995.
He said that the recent series of test explosions in South Asia had created a new reality that must be dealt with by the international community. Those tests had made it abundantly clear that the legal framework of the NPT was incapable of providing the necessary and comprehensive guarantees. The international community must deal with those loopholes, in order to arrive at general and complete disarmament through the renunciation of selectivity and double standards, as well as through universal adherence to that Treaty.
The underlying causes of the South Asian tests should be examined, he said. For many decades, India and Pakistan, and indeed the international community, had been calling upon the members of the "nuclear club" to work for the elimination of nuclear weapons in accordance with their legal obligations under the NPT. Those calls "fell on deaf ears" however, thereby leading to a nuclear arms race that was at risk of escalating. All the while, nuclear technology for peace was being denied to those countries that needed it for their development. It was not appropriate to follow the example of the ostrich "and bury our heads in the sand", he said.
The important disarmament developments of this year should not give way to excessive optimism, he said. The dangers of the lethal nuclear weapons, which hovered over the future of mankind, had not been reduced or eliminated. The international situation had prompted the need for greater efforts and a strengthened show of serious political will. The situation at the end of the century called for deep concern, as the production, stockpiling, deployment and testing of nuclear weapons had continued unabated.
He renewed his country's support for the call by the Non-Aligned Movement for the establishment of an ad hoc committee on nuclear disarmament in the Conference as a priority issue. He welcomed the establishment of an ad
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hoc committee in the Conference to start negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty, and he strongly supported the Non-Alignment Movement's proposal to convene a fourth special session on disarmament at the earliest possible date.
He said his country supported the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East. Regrettably, and despite its strategic importance, that objective was far from being achieved, owing to Israel's rejection. Indeed, that country's acquisition of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction continued to threaten international peace and stability. The international community must, therefore, convince Israel to adhere to the NPT and to place its facilities under IAEA safeguards.
Continuing, he said that Israel's stubborn refusal to adhere to the NPT constituted a flagrant defiance of the international community's will. Moreover, that State had an arsenal replete with hundreds of missiles and nuclear bombs and it had rejected any inspections or international supervision. Which was the "rogue" State that had broken international law and defied international reality? he asked. That State also continued to occupy parts of its neighbours' territories, also in defiance of international resolutions. That State had launched satellites and conducted espionage on other States of region, while shedding crocodile tears about its threatened security.
One way to promote peace and security was through transparency in armaments, he said. Regrettably, the Register of Conventional Arms lacked transparency. It must be expanded to include, in the first place, information about weapons of mass destruction, in particular nuclear weapons. It should also include information on advanced technology with military applications, as well as detailed data on national military production. Moreover, the Register did not take into account the Middle East situation, which lacked a qualitative balance in the field of armaments.
Regrettably, the statement made in the Committee a few days ago by the Director-General of the OPCW had not corresponded entirely with the current reality in the Middle East. In his statement, he said that the peace process was doing well and that efforts were being made towards achieving a comprehensive solution. However, the whole world -- and in particular those States that had sponsored the peace process -- were aware that it faced a genuine crisis. It had come to a complete halt on the Lebanon and Syrian tracks for two years and it was being eroded on the Palestinian track.
He said that Israel pursued an antagonistic policy, rejecting the rights of Arabs to restore their territories, at a time when its military arsenal was considered to be one of the biggest and most sophisticated in the world. The Director-General had portrayed Israel as "a dove of peace" that sought to comply with international disarmament instruments. To what instruments and international treaties did he refer? he asked. The number of countries that
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had remained outside the 1968 NPT could be counted on one hand, despite Israel's "flimsy pretext" for refusing to join.
The appeal made by the Director-General to some Arab States to adhere to the Chemical Weapons Convention and the lack of a call to Israel to adhere to the NPT "smacked of clear selectivity that was neither objective or acceptable", he said. All Arab States had adhered to the NPT, in response to the will of the international community. It seemed that those countries which possessed nuclear weapons and a nuclear arsenal did not care much about the rest of the weapons, including chemical weapons. Nevertheless, the Israeli representative yesterday morning declared that his Government's decision to ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention was contingent upon the adherence to it by some Arab States. That view totally contradicted Israel's own refusal to adhere to the NPT.
The statement made yesterday by the Israeli representative was full of contradictions, he said. His depiction of Israel as a small country surrounded by threatening neighbours was a myth that no one continued to believe. "Arming itself to the teeth" with various forms of conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction only served to destroy the strategic balance and impede the solution for a just and lasting peace, he said.
GEORGE VOLSKI (Georgia) said the organic link among disarmament, the easing of tension and development had already become tangible for Georgia. Unfortunately, the country faced aggressive separatism, which had created a significant source of tension in western Georgia, Abkhazia. The separatist regime, which had succeeded in gaining temporary control over the area, had no future. But, it should be viewed as proof of the urgency of the matter, for in Georgia, an attempt was being made at the violent disintegration of a State.
He said that the problem of anti-personnel landmines was extremely important, both from moral and practical standpoints. Georgia's accession to the Ottawa Convention was one of the most urgent matters and a plan for the imminent future. But the complexity of the situation was also understandable. It was impossible to fully meet the provisions of the Convention at a time when, due to separatist or other ambitions, part of the country's territory was practically uncontrolled.
Neither could the comprehensive transparency of armament be spoken of under the circumstances, he said. Practically, there was no mechanism that could control the influx of conventional arms in those territories or monitor illegal trafficking and unveil information about existing stockpiles of armament. When confronted by lawlessness, the problem of trafficking in radioactive, chemical and biological materials got all the more urgent and worrisome.
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He said that when speaking of the tensions existing in the Caucasus region, the following picture was apparent: on one side of the scales was a close cooperation of States with a view to implementing global economic projects and ensuring sustainable development; on the other side were adventurous ambitions linked to the interests of certain political revanchist or criminal groups. Those problems gave Georgia an opportunity to pinpoint concrete items for the agenda of the General Assembly special session dedicated to disarmament.
His position on the recently conducted nuclear tests was unequivocal, he said. He hoped that the number of signatories to the NPT would be increased by two in the near future and, yet, efforts aimed at curbing the proliferation of nuclear weapons had not lived up to current demands. More attention should be paid to an analysis of the preconditions for the propensity towards the development of nuclear armament and more effort should be exerted to eliminate those preconditions.
He said his Government attached great importance to the creation of security mechanisms for non-nuclear States. It was unfortunate that consensus on that matter had not been reached. He hoped that the ad hoc committee set up by the Conference on Disarmament would actively work to overcome existing obstacles. Also, the problem of considering environmental issues during the elaboration and implementation of agreements on disarmament was urgent. He hoped that the ideal of preserving the environment for posterity would ultimately prevail.
SOTIRIOS ZACKHEOS (Cyprus), said the post-cold war period completely rewrote the disarmament and arms control agenda. Major achievements in that regard included the indefinite extension of the NPT, the adoption of the CTBT and the conclusion of the Ottawa Convention. His country supported all efforts aimed at strengthening the international non-proliferation regime.
He joined other speakers in stressing the need to achieve universality in the implementation of the NPT. His Government was firmly committed to the successful outcome of the 2000 review conference of the NPT and shared the objectives of the European Union to that end. He also urged the early entry into force of the CTBT and said he was delighted that India and Pakistan had expressed their intention to adhere to the Treaty.
He said his country welcomed the decision of the Conference on Disarmament to negotiate the banning of fissile materials for nuclear weapons purposes and security assurances to non-nuclear-weapon States. His country was party to the Chemical Weapons Convention and had adopted all the necessary legislation required for its implementation. The verification protocol of the Biological Weapons Convention was crucial and his country hoped that it would soon be established.
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His country was encouraged by the enthusiastic response of the international community regarding the total elimination of anti-personnel landmines, he said. Despite the continuing foreign occupation of almost 40 per cent of the territory of Cyprus, it still decided to sign the Ottawa Convention as an expression of its determination to contribute to international efforts to rid the world of those weapons. His country was also encouraged by the attention being given to the scourge of illicit trafficking in small arms. Cyprus was committed to all the measures being pursued by the European Union towards the containment of that problem.
He recalled the proposal of the President of his country, suggesting concrete ways of starting work on a specific programme to reduce foreign and local forces, as a preparatory step towards the eventual demilitarization of the island, "as stipulated by relevant United Nations resolutions". Steps to be taken in that context included: the withdrawal of all foreign elements; the disbanding of the national guard of Cyprus; and the handing over of all arms and military equipment to an international force. That proposal remained on the negotiating table.
He said his Government was committed to resolving "the Cyprus problem" by peaceful means. A matter of great concern for his Government was the decision of the Turkish Government to build a nuclear power plant in a highly seismic area in southeastern Turkey. That had obvious environmental consequences for Cyprus and also posed a potential risk to international peace and security. The proposed site greatly increased the risk of "a catastrophic accident" that could spread radioactive contamination over Turkey, Cyprus and the Middle East.
The Democratic People's Republic of Korea, speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that yesterday the representative of South Korea had spoken at length about disarming, securing and unifying the Korean peninsula. He claimed his country was interested in solving those problems. That claim was completely deceptive and ridiculous.
Clearly, in order to end the political confrontation on the Korean peninsula, the North and South should move towards reunification based on North-South mutual coexistence, he said. Neighbouring countries, for their part, should implement impartial policies and refrain from instigating confrontation. However, the South opposed unification on the basis of North- South coexistence and tried to cover up their real attempt to unify on the basis of their own system. It had also begged the United States and Japan to collaborate and cooperate in destroying the North, which further revealed its true intent.
He said that the military aspect was comprised of two questions, namely the destruction of the confrontational structure on the one hand, and solving disarmament and regulating security matters on the other. In order to dismantle that confrontational structure, the peace agreement between the
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Democratic People's Republic and the United States should be concluded, since a North-South non-aggression pact already existed. Simultaneously, other disarmament and regional matters should be solved.
Their true intent was to disarm the North, step by step, in order to achieve the ultimate goal of confrontation, he said. Although the South talked about four-way talks, how could progress be expected with their "hearts in the wrong place?". The South Koreans did not wish to dismantle the confrontational structure. The international community should recognize those realities.
The representative of Azerbaijan, speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said he wished to address the allegations made yesterday by the representative of Armenia. Azerbaijan had been forcibly driven into a full scale war with Armenia, in which a wide range of weapons had been used. A substantial part of the military arsenal that was used had consisted of weapons and military technology that was limited by the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE Treaty).
At present, Armenia controlled 20 per cent of Azerbaijan's territory, he said. Moreover, in early 1997, Armenia had 253 battle tanks, 278 armoured vehicles and 298 artillery units stationed in the occupied territory. Clearly, that arsenal already exceeded the maximum levels for all of Azerbaijan under the CFE Treaty. Armenia had violated that Treaty and had used force against the territorial integrity of another State party to that Treaty. Given those violations, Azerbaijan would consider itself to be released from its Treaty obligations.
He said that despite those difficulties his country was continuing to fulfil its Treaty obligations. Even at the height of military confrontation, it had never refused inspections by other States. Moreover, while his country had fully supported all dimensions of the Ottawa Convention, the present security situation in his region and the absence of an alternative weapon had precluded his country from joining that total ban at the present time. However, his country had recently established a national demining agency.
The continuing aggression against his country had led to the wide use of anti-personnel and anti-tank mines, he said. Moreover, the threat of resumed hostilities persisted. Furthermore, the other side was regularly conducting military exercises with another country, which were designed to increase its military potential. Such political and military activities had not only prevented a settlement of the conflict, but had also directly destabilized the region. Unlike Armenia, whose territory was never invaded or occupied, Azerbaijan had been forced to apply appropriate measures, including the use of mines as a deterrent.
The representative of Armenia, speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that the allegations regarding a so-called war between his country
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and Azerbaijan were totally misleading. The conflict in question was between the people and Government of Azerbaijan, which had refused to address their demands for self-determination. The fighting was not the result of Armenia's aggression, but of the self-defence of the Armenian population. Hence, Armenia and its armed forces had no responsibility for the occupation of territory.
Concerning the allegations that Armenia had violated the CFE Treaty, he said that after the collapse of the Soviet Union, conventional arsenals were divided among the CFE parties according to the Tashkent Agreement, which stipulated that those States should have equal amounts of military equipment in all five categories. Armenia was in compliance and had not exceeded the limitations in any of those categories. Moreover, inspections had not revealed any quantitative violations. On the other hand, Azerbaijan had continually violated the CFE Treaty by seriously exceeding the limits in the three areas of ground equipment. The presence of a large arsenal of weapons threatened regional peace and cast doubt on Azerbaijan's intentions.
He said his country was also concerned about Azerbaijan's failure to observe the landmines ban. His own country's full participation in that Convention was contingent upon a similar commitment by other States in the region. Regarding conventional arms transfers, a trilateral intergovernmental group was still considering options in that regard. The representative of Azerbaijan had claimed that his country was interested in settling the issue. However, its repeated allegations could be construed as attempts to distract the international community from its flagrant violation of the CFE Treaty.
The representative of Israel, speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that the Syrian representative seemed to dismiss lightly the threat to Israel and he made fun of its small size, but his own record on the peace process and arms control had not been encouraging. Syria had opposed the Camp David process, the peace treaty with Egypt, the peace treaty with Jordan, the Oslo peace talks with the Palestinian Liberation Organization, and talks with the Palestinians. It continued today to object to the ongoing talks in Maryland. None of that pointed to a very encouraging attitude on the part of Syria to the Middle East peace process.
Furthermore, he said that Syria had supported international terrorism, citing an incident in which the Syrian Embassy in London had been involved in placing a bomb aboard an El Al airline. He said Syria had also continued to occupy parts of Lebanon and it was one of the few States with poison gas in its arsenal. In fact, it had equipped ballistic missiles with poison gas warheads and pointed them at Israel. That record did not give Israel a very warm feeling. The Syrian diatribe had a fairly hollow sound. That State must make peace with Israel, normalize relations and discuss arms control directly. It could not persistently call for Israel's destruction, while insisting that Israel take unilateral steps.
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The representative of Turkey, speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that his delegation had been compelled to take the floor to address the allegations made by a previous speaker on the Cyprus issue. It was ironic to hear those calls for demilitarization and for the reduction of tension on the island and in the region at a time, and on a day, when the Greek Cypriot national guard units, together with other Greek army, navy and air force units, were staging provocative military manoeuvres in and around south Cyprus. It had been reported that F-16 and A-7 warplanes from Greece would be deployed at an air base in south Cyprus.
He said that the continuing provocations and planned deployments of sophisticated S-300 missiles in south Cyprus in the context of the joint military doctrine between Greece and the Greek Cypriot administration constituted the underlying causes of tension in Cyprus. The speaker, in the context of his country's policies of enmity, had also tried to exploit the question of the peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Turkey, which had adhered to all international nuclear non-proliferation instruments, did not need to be reminded of its responsibilities. The unfounded claims made today would be duly replied to and distributed as a document of both the General Assembly and the Security Council.
The Republic of Korea, speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said he was frankly disappointed because he had not heard any new element from the representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea. The task of peace on the Korean peninsula was not an easy one. Rather, it required patience, tolerance and indeed, the reconciliation and restoration of mutual trust. In that connection, the "sunshine policy" was not intended to perpetuate confrontation, but rather to end the confrontation of the old era and to open a new era of genuine peace and cooperation on the Korean peninsula.
The representative of Syria, speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that with regard to Syria's "record", he wished to recall the statement made yesterday by the representative of Israel, who had described his country's record as impressive and underscored its intention to play a part in the family of nations. Indeed, Israel's record was impressive -- in defying international law and the agreements of the United Nations. It had even defied international humanitarian law.
He said he wished to remind delegations that the representative of Israel had not answered the direct questions that were posed to him yesterday concerning chemical weapons. He had not said anything about the assassination attempt in which chemical agents and falsified Canadian passports had been used. What were his justifications about the 1992 crash of the El Al airliner that had been carrying chemical agents and what about the disappearance of 30 metric tons of those agents?
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Referring to an article published in Paris, he said that an investigation had revealed the existence of a large factory near Tel Aviv that was devoted to the manufacture of chemical and biological weapons. It went under the name of Biological Research Institute and it was not included in any aerial map of the region. The article said the airliner was carrying 190 litres of chemical agents -- similar to the poisonous gas used in the terrorist acts in a Tokyo subway in 1995 -- from an American company to that Israeli factory. When the Israeli authorities finally acknowledged the incident, they said that the chemical agents could become poisonous only if other material was added to it.
Continuing to paraphrase that article, he said that Israel's story was not accurate, because a study had indicated that hundreds of people living in the neighbourhood over which the plane had crashed had suffered from many diseases, resulting from the leakage of chemical agents from the plane. Yet, Israel continued to deny the existence of a chemical weapons programme. The article also stated that Israel had prepared F-16 planes to carry the chemical weapons made in that factory.
He said that the Israeli representative was well aware that the peace process could not have started without Syria's help. Syria had responded to the initiative and had co-sponsored it, along with the United States and Russia, on the grounds that the process was to be based on relevant international and Security Council resolutions. The halt of the peace process was attributable to the position of Israel's current Prime Minister -- his refusal to accept the formula of land for peace and to resume negotiations on all tracks from the point at which they had been suspended.
The events taking place in Maryland had proved to all that the current Prime Minister was far removed from any will to achieve a just and comprehensive peace, he said. On the contrary, he was attempting to kill that process, as had been his election promise. "Let's correct matters and not accept lies and obfuscations by Israel of the reality," he said.
The representative of Cyprus, speaking in exercise of the right of reply, said that the Turkish representative seemed to be allergic to the name of the Republic of Cyprus, the legitimate and internationally recognized Government of Cyprus. He preferred instead to refer to a cessationist entity, which resulted from the Turkish invasion and occupation of Cyprus -- declared illegal by the Security Council and recognized only by Turkey.
He said that the representative of Turkey had not explained why he had not supported the proposal made by the President of Cyprus to demilitarize the island. It was apparent that Turkey did not wish to discuss that issue, because of its expansionist aims and because it wanted to keep Cyprus a perpetual hostage to its military superiority. He had referred also to the decision of the Cyprus Government to enhance its defence capability and to submit its national guards to yearly exercises. The exercise was a country's
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expression of its right of self-defence. That was especially true for Cyprus, which had endured the long-standing occupation by 36,000 Turkish forces.
The tension on the island was the result of the threatening presence of Turkish troops, he went on. His country's experience with bombardments by Turkey against innocent civilians in 1964 and 1974 had fully justified its security concerns. Those actions had violated the United Nations Charter. Turkey was always ready to threaten and take military measures against Cyprus or against its other neighbours. His country had not seen the slightest effort towards reducing tensions or returning to the negotiating table.
On the other hand, he said his Government had provided ample proof of its desire to find a solution. It would call on Turkey to come to the negotiating table and discuss the question of reducing tension. In so doing, that country would find an eager partner. To the question of the participation of Greeks in the exercises in Cyprus, he said that was done at the request and with the approval of the Cyprus Government.
The representative of Israel, speaking again in exercise of the right of reply, said that he had failed to hear the reaction of the representative of Syria to his point that Syria had poison gas in its military arsenal and had equipped ballistic missiles with poison gas warheads -- missiles that were within range of Israel and aimed at Israel. Israel, frankly, had something to fear.
The representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, speaking again in exercise of the right of reply, said that his delegation had concluded that talking with South Korea was useless, because that country was controlled by outside forces, even in policy decisions. The withdrawal of United States troops was fundamental. The root cause of confrontation was intervention by outside forces. Without such intervention, North and South Korea would be unified.
He said that South Korea had rejected the root cause and had begged for the permanent stationing of American troops in its territory. That country should pursue an independent policy and ask for the withdrawal of those troops, thereby creating favourable conditions for peace, disarmament and reunification. His delegation would prefer to talk to South Korea's "real bosses" from now on.
The representative of Syria, speaking again in exercise of the right of reply, said that those who lived in glass houses must not throw stones. When a country had nuclear weapons and possessed some 200 nuclear bombs, when it had nuclear reactors that were not subject to international inspections, when it had chemical and biological laboratories and factories, when it persisted in occupying the territories of others -- that country was not entitled to pose questions to States that, under the United Nations Charter, had a legitimate right to self-defence.
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He said the Middle East did not need the establishment of strategic alliances, but rather the establishment of a just and comprehensive peace, based on international and legally binding resolutions. That meant the complete withdrawal by Israel from the occupied Golan Heights and from southern Lebanon and the West Bank, in implementation of the relevant Security Council resolutions and the principle of land for peace. Negotiations with the Palestinian side had supported the realization of the legitimate national rights of Palestinians, including the right of self-determination and the establishment of independent State on national soil.
The peace process was facing a real crisis and had come to a compete halt on the Syrian and Lebanese tracks because of the election of the current Prime Minister, he said. Yet, Syria had remained committed to peace. It had called for the resumption of negotiations and it had consistently expressed its readiness to resume them from the point at which they had left off. His country had yet to hear any convincing response from Israel's representative to those arguments.
On a point of order, the representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea said that South Korea had yesterday exercised the right of reply in relation to his statement from Friday, and he had spoken in the right of reply once today. That delegation, therefore, should not be given right of reply again.
The Chairman said that according to the rules of procedure, each delegation could speak twice per meeting in exercise of the right of reply. He recognized the representative of the Republic of Korea.
The representative of the Republic of Korea, speaking again in exercise of the right of reply, said that the last statement made by the representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea was not surprising, but very disappointing. To discuss in detail the issue of United States troops in Korea would take several hours. For defence purposes, and in accordance with a mutual defence treaty between States, the presence of those troops was appropriate in countries threatened by foreign forces.
He did not wish, however, to detail the threat from the North, which had engaged in a huge military build-up and deployed artillery within a 30-mile range of the capital of the Republic of Korea. His country was not interested in confrontation, but rather in finding a way to accommodate reconciliation. The Chairman should appeal to the delegate from the Democratic People's Republic of Korea to understand its genuine wish for a peaceful solution to the situation on the Korean peninsula.
The representative of Turkey, speaking again in exercise of the right of reply, said that for the record, he would reiterate that the unfounded allegations made by the previous speaker, namely the Greek Cypriot
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representative using the usurped seat of the Republic of Cyprus, would be duly replied to by the representative of the Turkish Republic of Cyprus.
The representative of Cyprus, also speaking again in exercise of the right of reply, said that the delegate from Turkey had persisted in referring to the illegal entity in the north and he had not accepted the legality of the Government of the Republic of Cyprus. No invader in history had accepted the legality of its victim, so he saw no reason why Turkey should demonstrate a different attitude.
He said that the right of reply made by the representative of Turkey had provided the opportunity to express his country's objection to the nuclear power plant in south Turkey, which stemmed from the fact that the area lay in a very seismic area, thereby posing both environmental and security concerns. He would make available the relevant report from the Greenpeace organization to show that its allegations were based on facts.
The Chairman said he was unable to give the floor to the representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea for a third time.
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