CHINA, COLOMBIA AND FINLAND ADDRESS CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT, AS CONFERENCE PRESIDENT CONTINUES CONSULTATIONS
Press Release
DCF/398
CHINA, COLOMBIA AND FINLAND ADDRESS CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT, AS CONFERENCE PRESIDENT CONTINUES CONSULTATIONS
20000622GENEVA, 22 June (UN Information Service) -- The Conference on Disarmament this morning heard statements from China and Finland in which they outlined their priorities concerning the work of the Conference and urged agreement on a programme of work.
Ambassador Hu Xiaodi of China warned that if the Conference failed now to start negotiations on a legal instrument to prevent the weaponization of outer space and an arms race there, it would have to negotiate "disarmament" or "prevention of weapons proliferation" in outer space in the near future. The Conference should re-establish an ad hoc committee to negotiate and conclude an international legal instrument banning the test, deployment and use of any weapons systems and their components in outer space.
Ambassador Markku Reimaa of Finland said a key priority for his country was to get the fissile material cut-off treaty truly under way. As for nuclear disarmament, fresh guidance could be taken from the agreement reached recently in New York. Opening a dialogue on nuclear disarmament matter in the context of the Conference on Disarmament could undoubtedly contribute to efforts that were being done in other arenas. The most reasonable way to proceed was to build upon what had been agreed upon earlier and where common ground existed. Compromises were needed, he urged.
Ambassador Camilo Reyes Rodriguez of Colombia pointed out parts of a declaration adopted by the Summit of the Rio Group which had met in Cartagena de Indias on 15 and 16 June, which were relevant to the work of the Conference.
Ambassador Jean Lint of Belgium, the present President of the Conference, said the consultation process to develop agreement on a programme of work was continuing intensively, both bilaterally and within groups. At yesterday afternoons meeting, group coordinators had encouraged him to continue his efforts in order to reach agreement as soon as possible. He said he would concentrate all his energies in the last few days of the second part of the 2000 session of the Conference which ends on 7 July. He hoped that high-level contacts under way would contribute to reduce differences and would create conditions which would allow the Conference to reach a consensus.
The Conference agreed to accept the request of Côte d'Ivoire to attend its 2000 session as an observer.
The next plenary meeting of the Conference on Disarmament will take place at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 29 June.
- 2 - Press Release DCF/398 22 June 2000
Statements
HU XIAODI (China) said the so-called National and Theatre Missile Defence systems would inevitably introduce relevant weapons or weapons systems into outer space which would turn outer space into a new weapon base and a battlefield. The development and deployment of the National Missile Defence System would violate the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM Treaty) systems. Therefore, there had been tenacious attempts to amend the ABM Treaty. That could result in negative developments which would not only bring about the weaponization of outer space and an arms race there, but also would jeopardize the global strategic balance and stability, disrupt the basis for the international nuclear- disarmament process, and trigger off global weapons proliferation and another round of the arms race.
Mr. Hu said that if the Conference failed to start negotiations on a legal instrument to prevent the weaponization of outer space and an arms race there, it would have to negotiate "disarmament" or "prevention of weapons proliferation" in outer space in the near future. The international community, while making efforts to consolidate and strengthen the existing international legal instruments concerning outer space, was also in great need of negotiating and concluding new legal instruments on prevention of an arms race in outer space, with a view to realizing non-weaponization of outer space. In that regard, the Conference was obliged and able to take that important job. Prevention of an arms race in outer space had every reason to be one of the highest priorities on the agenda of the Conference on Disarmament. China believed that there should be no obstacles for the Conference to establish an ad hoc committee on prevention of an arms race in outer space and to conduct substantive negotiations.
In view of that, China maintained that the Conference should re-establish an ad hoc committee to negotiate and conclude an international legal instrument banning the test, deployment and use of any weapons systems and their components in outer space. Mr. Hu noted that the Conference had failed to conduct substantive work for more than three years because of its failure to formulate a programme of work. China was deeply concerned about that. In achieving agreement on the programme of work, the Conference should consider every item on its agenda in a comprehensive and balanced way. Since the Conference did not conduct its work in a vacuum, its programme of work must address, rather than evade, the real problems concerning international security, particularly developments which had major negative impacts on international peace and on arms control and disarmament. China was prepared to seriously study and actively support all proposals that met the above-mentioned requirements, including the establishment of negotiating mechanisms for the three agenda items on prevention of an arms race in outer space, nuclear disarmament and a fissile material cut-off treaty.
CAMILO REYES RODRIGUEZ (Colombia) said that the Summit of the Rio Group, which had met in Cartagena de Indias on 15 and 16 June, had adopted a declaration which contained three paragraphs which dealt with issues relevant to the Conference. The first dealt with nuclear disarmament. In it, the heads of State of the Rio Group had maintained that not only was nuclear disarmament the responsibility of all States, primarily nuclear-weapon States, but that the international community should also adopt concrete measures to foster non- proliferation of nuclear weapons.
Mr. Reyes Rodriguez said that the second paragraph referred to the region's commitment to combat the trafficking of weapons. And the third called on States to ratify the Ottawa Convention as soon as possible and to renew their commitment to victims and to the clearing of mines.
MARKKU REIMAA (Finland) said that the Conference was at a critical moment as it only had some days available to seal an agreement on a programme of work and to allow the Conference to move into substantive work during the third part of this year's session. If that opportunity was lost, the Conference risked losing another year.
Mr. Reimaa said that the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Review Conference had created a new momentum in nuclear disarmament and non- proliferation. The Conference should derive benefit from the successful NPT Conference. The Conference had to accept that it was not possible to settle all the differences at once. For Finland, a key priority was to get the fissile material cut-off treaty truly under way. Finland understood that all other delegations deemed it important to start working on that question. For that purpose, the Conference had the mandate text that had been agreed upon by all delegations in August 1998. As for nuclear disarmament, fresh guidance could be taken from the agreement reached recently in New York. Opening a dialogue on nuclear disarmament matter in the context of the Conference on Disarmament could undoubtedly contribute to efforts that were being carried out in other arenas. Finland held the view that the START process was of particular importance.
The most reasonable way to proceed was to build upon what had been agreed upon earlier and where common ground existed, Mr. Reimaa said. The Conference should not live in isolation from the outside world, and it should reflect the aspirations of different participants in an appropriate way. Compromises were needed. Yet, the decision making procedure, consensus, would provide sufficient assurances that vital national concerns of all delegations would be taken into account.
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