FIRST COMMITTEE CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF DISARMAMENT DRAFT RESOLUTIONS

Press Release
GA/DIS/3164

FIRST COMMITTEE CONCLUDES CONSIDERATION OF DISARMAMENT DRAFT RESOLUTIONS

Text on Fissile Material Treaty Withdrawn

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) this afternoon concluded its consideration of all disarmament- and security-related draft resolutions as the representative of Canada withdrew a text that urged the Conference on Disarmament to negotiate a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear devices.

The Committee will resume its work for the current session on Thursday, 11 November, when it considers the question of Antarctica, which it examines every three years.

In closing remarks on the current phase of the Committee’s work, the Committee Chairman, Raimundo Gonzales (Chile), noted that the Committee had acted upon 52 draft resolutions and decisions, of which 17 concerned nuclear weapons and related issues. The negotiations had strongly reflected the international community’s deep concern at the impasse, bilateral and multilateral, on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. At best, that situation was static -- perhaps worsening. Frustration was rising at the multilateral level. In that context, the 2000 Review Conference on the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) faced a severe test in advancing the full implementation of the decisions and resolutions adopted at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference.

He said the Committee had held an unprecedented debate on the issue of missile proliferation and missile defence. The issue had been attracting the growing attention of the international community, because of its impact on strategic stability, nuclear doctrines, the further reduction of nuclear weapons and non-proliferation and possible repercussions on disarmament- and security- related treaties. The first rejection of the ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) by the first signatory, during the Committee’s general debate, prompted it to add its voice to the call by the Vienna Conference on facilitating its entry into force to sustain the ratification process.

Statements in appreciation of the conclusion of the substantive phase of the Committee’s work were made on behalf of their respective regional group by the representatives of Lebanon, South Africa, Croatia, Algeria, Viet Nam, Liechtenstein and Argentina.

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The Committee will meet again at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 11 November, to consider the question of Antarctica.

Committee Work Programme

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) met this afternoon to conclude its consideration of and action on all draft resolutions. It had before it a draft concerning the decision of the Conference on Disarmament to establish an ad hoc committee to negotiate a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons.

By the terms of that text (document A/C.1/54/L.30), the Assembly would urge the Conference on Disarmament to establish, under the agenda item on cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament, an ad hoc committee to negotiate a non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear devices. It would urge the Conference to re-establish its ad hoc committee at the beginning of the 2000 session.

The draft resolution is sponsored by Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Mongolia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom and the United States.

Action on Texts

The representative of Canada withdrew the draft resolution on the Conference on Disarmament (document A/C.1./54/L.30).

The CHAIRMAN announced a request to postpone tomorrow’s meeting until Thursday.

Offering thanks and appreciation for the efforts of the Committee Chairman, Secretary, bureau and all support staff were: Finland on behalf of the European Union and associated countries; Lebanon on behalf of the Arab Group; South Africa on behalf of the States of the Non-Aligned Movement; Croatia, on behalf of the Group of Eastern European States; Algeria, on behalf of the African Group; Viet Nam on behalf of the Asian Group; and Lichtenstein on behalf of the Group of Western European and other States.

RAIMUNDO GONZALEZ (Chile), the Committee Chairman, said in his closing statement that the United Nations had always stood for dialogue among nations, and the First Committee had again taken the pulse of the world in the field of international security and disarmament. Nuclear disarmament and non- proliferation issues had continued to receive the lion’s share of attention. Of 53 draft resolutions and decisions, 17 on nuclear weapons and related issues were acted upon. The debate, negotiations and action taken strongly reflected

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the international community’s deep concern at the impasse, bilaterally and multilaterally, on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

He said that the Committee had underlined the significance of the April/May 2000 Review Conference of the NPT. The Conference faced a severe test of the will of States parties to advance the full implementation of the decisions and resolutions adopted at the 1995 Review and Extension Conference. The Committee had also expressed concern at the continuing impasse in the work of the Conference on Disarmament, and appeals were widespread for it to fully play its role as the sole multilateral negotiating body on disarmament matters. The Conference faced a crucial year in advancing the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation agenda.

The Committee, he said, had had an unprecedented debate on missile proliferation and missile defences. The issue had been attracting growing international concern owing to recent events, especially because of its impact on strategic stability, nuclear doctrines, the further reduction of nuclear weapons and non-proliferation and possible repercussions on disarmament and security-related treaties and other legal instruments. The two resolutions present this year emphasized that further constructive study and inter- governmental discussion on the issue were indispensable.

He said that the Committee’s endorsement of the Final Declaration of the Vienna Conference in October on facilitating the entry into force of the CTBT had asserted that, despite well-known setbacks, the entry into force process would be sustained. The Committee had also reaffirmed its support for the existing nuclear-weapon-free zones and encouraged the establishment of further zones, providing there was agreement of all parties in the region. In addition, it had reasserted the importance of the two existing conventions on chemical and biological weapons by adopting respective resolutions on them without a vote.

It was encouraging, he added, that the international consensus on the need to tackle the illicit trafficking of small arms was growing. The Committee had lent majority support to the quest to rid the world of the scourge of anti- personnel landmines, stressing, among other points, the importance of the effective implementation of the Ottawa Convention. The Committee also gave its support once again to disarmament efforts at the regional level by welcoming the revitalization of the United Nations regional centres in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean and by commending the continuing operation of the Asia and Pacific regional centre.

The next session of the First Committee, he concluded, would take place during the Millennium Assembly in 2000, he said. There would be much reflection between now and then about the significance of the turn of the century for international security and disarmament. It was hard to avoid the feeling that history was being made, and it was incumbent upon the First Committee to make sure that the contributions that disarmament could make to international peace and security were recognized and highlighted in the preparatory process and the Millennium Assembly itself.

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