GENERAL ASSEMBLY WOULD STRONGLY DEPLORE SOUTH ASIA NUCLEAR TESTS UNDER TERMS OF DRAFT TEXT APPROVED BY FIRST COMMITTEE CORRECTION

Press Release
GA/DIS/3134/

GENERAL ASSEMBLY WOULD STRONGLY DEPLORE SOUTH ASIA NUCLEAR TESTS UNDER TERMS OF DRAFT TEXT APPROVED BY FIRST COMMITTEE CORRECTION

In Press Release GA/DIS/3134 issued on 12 November, the statement of the representative of Ecuador on page 5 should read as follows:

The representative of Ecuador said he had decided to co-sponsor the draft resolution on nuclear testing because of his country's unequivocal and firm rejection of nuclear tests, regardless of their origin. Ecuador had never been selective regarding countries or people in deploring past nuclear tests. It responded similarly to the more recent tests. Those had taken place after the indefinite extension of the NPT, which enjoyed the support of 187 States parties, and following the conclusion of the CTBT, which had already been signed by 150 States. He said that, in addition to the individual statements made by his Government, it had signed declarations on nuclear testing adopted by the heads of State or governments of the Non-Aligned Movement, the Organization of American States (OAS), and by the Rio Group. The current draft perfectly reflected the positions elaborated in those declarations and referred to a specific subject. It was unwise to alter the essence of its content with amendments that would change its focus and limit its scope. While his country had always defended the principles outlined in many of those amendments, it could not support their adoption in the present context. Furthermore, the texts of those amendments were already contained in other Committee drafts.

He said his country maintained a friendship and solidarity with the countries of South Asia, which shared its social and economic ideals. Nuclear tests, however, were not part of that common agenda.

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