ALL SHOULD WORK TOGETHER FOR REALIZATION OF NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE WORLD, PRESIDENT OF CHINA TELLS CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT
Press Release
DCF/366
ALL SHOULD WORK TOGETHER FOR REALIZATION OF NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE WORLD, PRESIDENT OF CHINA TELLS CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT
19990330 President Deplores Military Action Against Federal Republic of Yugoslavia(Reissued as received.)
GENEVA, 26 March (UN Information Service) -- Jiang Zemin, President of China, this afternoon warned the Conference on Disarmament that a cold war mentality still lingered. He said the tendency towards closer military alliances was on the rise.
President Jiang underlined the vital role played by the Conference on Disarmament as the single multilateral disarmament body in the world today.
He spoke of the lessons of history; that the old security concept, based on military alliances and build-up of armaments, did not help to ensure global security, no more than it helped ensure a lasting world peace. Mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity constituted the economic guarantee for world peace and historical experience showed that an unrestrained arms build-up hampered economic growth.
He elaborated on China's plans for a future of worldwide peace, with the elimination of nuclear weapons and the corollary disappearance of the dangers of nuclear war. President Jiang urged the world to work together for the ultimate realization of a nuclear-weapon-free world.
President Jiang deplored the current military actions against Kosovo and other parts of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, calling them a violation of the norms governing international relations, and saying they were detrimental to the peace of the Balkan region. He called for a swift resolution to the crisis, but also noted that the turn of the century offered a good opportunity to sum up historical experience and shape a lasting peace for the future.
The President of the Disarmament Conference, Ambassador Nguyen Qui Binh of Viet Nam, welcomed the Chinese President, saying that the Conference
members were highly appreciative that he had found time to visit them despite his heavy schedule. The visit was a testimony to the importance that President Jiang attached personally to the multilateral control of armament and disarmament, and the success of the common endeavour.
The President of the Conference noted that this was the last plenary of the first part of the 1999 session. The next plenary will be held at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 11 May.
Statement
JIANG ZEMIN, President of China, spoke of the vital role played by the Conference as the single multilateral disarmament body in the world today. He warned that a cold war mentality still lingered on. The tendency towards closer military alliances was also on the rise.
President Jiang spoke of the lessons of history; that the old security concept, based on military alliances and build-up of armaments, did not help to ensure global security, no more than it ensured a lasting world peace. Mutually beneficial cooperation and common prosperity constituted the economic guarantee for world peace and historical experience showed that unrestrained arms build-up hampered economic growth.
The Conference on Disarmament, he noted, played an indispensable role in safeguarding world peace and security. He spoke of the changes this century had seen, with two world wars and uncountable conflicts.
President Jiang deplored the current military actions against Kosovo and other parts of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia as a violation of the norms governing international relations. He said they were detrimental to the peace of the Balkan region, and called for a swift resolution to the crisis. He also noted that the turn of the century offered a good opportunity to sum up historical experience and shape a lasting peace for the future.
However, President Jiang continued, an overview of the current global reality revealed that hegemonism and power politics still manifested themselves from time to time. Under these circumstances, the question of how to advance the disarmament process and safeguard global security could only become an important and pressing task, demanding the attention of all countries in the world.
The cultivation of a new security concept that met the need of the times was necessary, he said. The core of such a new concept of security should be mutual trust, mutual benefit, equality and cooperation, and other universally recognized norms governing international relations. Dialogue, consultation, and negotiation by parties concerned on an equal footing were the correct
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approach to resolving disputes and safeguarding peace. The establishment of a new concept of security and a new, just and fair international order was the only way to fundamentally promote a healthy development of the disarmament process, and provide the guarantee for international peace and security.
All countries should have an equal right to security, he said, else there would never be tranquillity in the entire world. Disarmament should not become a tool for stronger nations to control weaker ones. Historic experience had shown that unrestrained arms build-up hampered economic growth, and did not help maintain peace and security. Disarmament should serve to free up resources and to create better conditions for the economic development of all countries. No disarmament measure should be able to garner universal support, nor would it have lasting viability if it were taken at the expense of the economic or scientific development of most countries.
Disarmament, he continued, was not the prerogative of a few. All countries had the right to participate therein on an equal footing. Multilateral disarmament treaties were the result of negotiation through universal participation, and therefore reflected the common will of the international community. Vigorous efforts should be made to strengthen the role of the disarmament bodies of the United Nations, so that multilateral treaties may gradually replace bloc arrangements.
Nuclear weapons had never, over the past 50 years, ceased threatening the survival of humanity. Efforts should be made to achieve progress, particularly in the two countries with the largest nuclear arsenals of the world: the United States and the Russian Federation. The Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), as the basis of the international nuclear non-proliferation regime and the prerequisite for progress in the nuclear disarmament process, should be observed in full and in good faith, else international efforts for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation would be seriously harmed. The complete elimination of nuclear weapons was the objective that all were striving for, he continued. It was in line with this understanding that China supported the indefinite extension of the NPT.
Nuclear-weapon States should, as soon as possible, undertake unconditionally and in a legally-binding manner, not to be the first to use nuclear weapons, or to use them against non-nuclear-weapon States. China was ready to actively push for the early conclusion of an international legal instrument on that issue. Efforts should also be made for early entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). The recent nuclear tests had made this a more pressing task. Negotiations should also be conducted as soon as possible for the conclusion of a universal and verifiable Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. President Jiang recognized that all those present were making intensive efforts to that end, and wished them success.
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On the basis of these efforts, he continued, a convention on the comprehensive ban of nuclear weapons should be negotiated, on the same basis as the bans of those two types of weapons of mass destruction: biological and chemical weapons. However, progress in nuclear disarmament could not be achieved without a global strategic equilibrium and stability. The international community should pay close attention to this, and adopt necessary measures if required.
China was a peace-loving nation, he declared. To work for peace, stability, cooperation and development was the common goal of all peace-loving countries and peoples, and the planet should become a home for all people to live on in peace. The lessons of the past should never be forgotten, and efforts for world peace should be unwavering.
President Jiang concluded his address by saying that he was confident that with the common efforts of the world's people, and a genuine will of all statesmen of all countries, the disarmament cause would surely overcome one obstacle after another, and achieve continuous progress, so the world would have a better future.
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