DISARMAMENT COMMISSION HEARS REPORTS FROM CHAIRMEN OF THREE WORKING GROUPS ON PROGRESS MADE ON KEY DISARMAMENT ISSUES
Press Release
DC/2638
DISARMAMENT COMMISSION HEARS REPORTS FROM CHAIRMEN OF THREE WORKING GROUPS ON PROGRESS MADE ON KEY DISARMAMENT ISSUES
19990423 Statements Also Made by Representatives of Ukraine, Poland and ChinaThe Disarmament Commission this morning held a brief plenary session to hear reports from the Chairmen of its three working groups on the progress made so far on the key disarmament issues being deliberated at the 1999 substantive session.
Working group I is considering the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, for the third, and possibly, final year. Working group II is working towards agreement on the date and the elements of a provisional agenda of a fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament, for the fourth year. The third working group is formulating a comprehensive approach to guidelines on conventional arms control, also for the third year.
The Chairman of working group I, Emilio Izquierdo (Ecuador), said the group had carried out its work in the following phases: general statements on the Chairman's working paper; a preliminary study of each section of the document; and consideration of the document, paragraph by paragraph, thereby enabling any delegation to submit proposals on the text. The group had begun a drafting process yesterday, in which it was attempting to evolve commonly endorsed language aimed at achieving the necessary consensus. Substantial progress had been made in that regard, and those efforts, within a stepped-up process of consultations on still controversial points, could be finished today so that the document could be reviewed next week.
With respect to the Assembly's fourth special session on disarmament, the Chairman of working group II, Arizal Effendi (Indonesia), noted that the group had used only a portion of its allocated meetings in order to give the Chairman time to undertake intensive private consultations with the most directly interested delegations. The working group had used, as a basis for its work, the Chairman's paper of last year, as contained in the Commission's report (document A/53/42).
He further reported that when the working group had first begun meeting last week, seven issues had been introduced for incorporation into the Chairman's paper. It had also been apparent that the vast majority of working group members could accept the paper as it was. The Chairman was charged with finding a solution to the seven issues, which had now been reduced to two.
He said that of the two issues remaining to be resolved, one was very minor, requiring just some fine-tuning. He added that he was confident that a solution could be accepted by consensus. On the second issue, private consultations at the level of delegations had revealed no serious objection to the proposed compromised solution. They had simply requested time to receive instructions from their capital on a compromise solution.
If consensus was reached by Monday, the working group could begin to draft its report on Tuesday, he said. Then, if the draft report was finalized, it could be submitted to the Chairman on Wednesday. He commended the flexibility and constructive spirit of delegations, without which it would not be possible to reach consensus. Hopefully, that spirit would lead to agreement on the objectives and agenda for a fourth special session. That consensus would constitute a "giant leap" forward in the common endeavour to convene a special disarmament session.
The Chairman of the third working group, concerned with guidelines on conventional arms control, Michael Hoey (Ireland), said that following intensive consultations based on his pre-session working paper, a revised paper had been drafted. Substantive discussions had enabled him to isolate the four or five remaining problems. Consultations were planned this morning to address them. The issue was sensitive and the paper was complex, so it was important that consensus language be found. He was confident that, given the spirit of compromise, the Group would reach agreement by early next week on a final Chairman's text.
The Commission Chairman, Maged Abdelaziz (Egypt) said that progress achieved in the second working group was a result of the efforts made by all members -- including concessions on the part of many States, which had submitted proposals at the beginning of the meetings of the working group. Echoing the sentiment expressed by the Chairmen of the working groups, he expressed hope that the necessary political will would prevail in order that the preliminary agreement reached at that level would be maintained. Sufficient effort should be made at the various capitals in order to preserve that consensus to enable the adopting of a working paper at the end of the session.
Statements were also made by the representatives of Ukraine, Poland and China.
Disarmament Commission - 3 - Press Release DC/2638 230th Meeting (AM) 23 April 1999
The Disarmament Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. on Friday, 30 April, to adopt the reports of its subsidiary bodies and conclude its 1999 session.
Statements
V. H. KROKHMAL (Ukraine) said that a constructive approach had been demonstrated at the Commission's working group meetings. As disarmament efforts continued to be eroded and as wars continued, it was important that the global process be maintained. Ukraine had voluntarily renounced the world's third largest nuclear arsenal, and it supported efforts to establish nuclear-weapon-free zones, including Mongolia's proposal. Such zones had become significant to global security.
He said the fourth special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament would present a unique opportunity to give new impetus to General Assembly disarmament decisions, and a balanced agenda and consensus-oriented approach would make real achievement possible. Ukraine also supported the concept of guidelines for conventional arms control, and would support supplementing the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms register with regional instruments to increase transparency.
KAZIMIERZ TOMASZEWSKI (Poland), speaking on behalf of Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovakia, and Slovenia, said that, notwithstanding prior limited support for the proposal by Belarus for a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Eastern Europe, it had reintroduced the proposal at the Commission's current session. While he supported nuclear-weapon-free zones as complementary to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), those must not interfere with existing or evolving security arrangements.
The Belarus proposal disregarded the wishes of countries of the region, which did not support it, he continued. Moreover, the proposal had not received great support from the Commission. He was concerned that the forum was being used to serve political purposes. He urged Belarus not to insist on the proposal in working group 1.
LI CHANGHE (China) thanked the Chairman of working group II and noted that considerable progress had been achieved during consultations. Last week, those consultations had mainly been devoted to the concerns of certain countries, but others also had their own very important concerns. For instance, the Chinese delegation had the following two concerns: the international situation since the first special session of the General Assembly on disarmament; the post-cold war era; and trends at the global, regional and sub-regional levels, in particular recent negative developments and their implications for international disarmament progress, peace and
Disarmament Commission - 4 - Press Release DC/2638 230th Meeting (AM) 23 April 1999
security. The development, deployment, and proliferation of anti-missile systems and compliance with the relevant treaty were also concerns.
On the other hand, he said his delegation had noted the desire of countries to maintain the delicate balance that had been achieved in the Commission during the past three years. The question now was whether that balance could be preserved. In future consultations, his delegation would try to seek a solution.
* *** *