Ad Hoc Committee on Indian Ocean

448^th Meeting (PM)

INDIAN OCEAN COMMITTEE UNABLE TO REACH CONSENSUS ON IMPLEMENTATION

OF ‘ZONE OF PEACE’ RESOLUTION

Unfortunately, it had not been possible to reach a consensus on the manner of the implementation of the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace (General Assembly resolution 2832 (1971)), John de Saram (Sri Lanka), Chairman of the Ad Hoc Committee for the Indian Ocean, reported to the Committee during its 2001 substantive session.

[By resolution 2832 (1971), the Assembly declared the Indian Ocean a zone of peace.  It called upon the great Powers to enter into immediate consultations with the littoral States of the Indian Ocean with a view to halting the further escalation and expansion of their military presence in the Indian Ocean.]

He said that in 1997, at its fifty-second session, and again at its fifty-fourth session in 1999, the General Assembly expressed the conviction that participation of all the permanent members of the Security Council and the major maritime users of the Indian Ocean in the work of the Committee was important.  The three permanent members of the Council that were not participating in the Committee -- namely France, United Kingdom and the United States -- had informed him that they had still not changed their positions on non-participation.

Notwithstanding the difficulties that still remained, he hoped that the Committee could conclude that the Assembly should allow some further time for consultations on how measures in the Declaration could perhaps be considered in a more focused manner.

China's representative said the major Powers should remove their military presence in the Indian Ocean region and refrain from threatening regional States.  Also, all parties should observe among others, the principles of sovereignty, territorial integrity and mutual cooperation.  China also argued that States in the region only needed enough armaments for their defence needs. 

The representative of Indonesia underscored alternative approaches during a period of change and transition.  It was best to deal with those issues that were less contentious, such as confidence-building measures on which cooperative security strategies could be built.  He hoped the three permanent members of the Council would consider their positions and rejoin the Ad Hoc Committee.  The importance of international cooperation in overcoming the difficulties faced by the Committee and in seeking common viewpoints had been emphasized by the Non-Aligned countries.

The representative of Australia said the Committee had yet to find a productive direction for its work.  Time and resources devoted to the Committee should be limited until a work programme was agreed upon and substantive work could begin.  She looked forward to increased economic cooperation that would result from the development of a substantive trade and investment agenda by the Indian Ocean Rim Association for Regional Cooperation.

The representative of Mozambique and the representative of Madagascar, in her national capacity, also spoke.

The Ad Hoc Committee adopted its agenda and the draft report to the General Assembly (document A/AC.159/L.130), which was introduced by its Rapporteur, Radafiarisoa Lea Raholinirina (Madagascar).  The report recommended to the Assembly that the Chairman be requested to continue informal consultations with the members of the Committee and to report through the Committee to the Assembly at its fifty-eighth session.

Current Members of the Ad Hoc Committee are:  Australia, Bangladesh, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Germany, Greece, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Liberia, Madagascar, Malaysia, Maldives, Mauritius, Mozambique, Netherlands, Norway, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Seychelles, Singapore, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Thailand, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Yemen, Zambia and Zimbabwe.  Nepal, South Africa and Sweden are observers.

The Committee’s Vice-Chairs are:  Bronte Moules (Australia); Carlos dos Santos (Mozambique); and Hazairin Pohan (Indonesia).  Radafiarisoa Lea Raholinirina (Madagascar) is the Committee’s Rapporteur.

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