CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT TO OPEN 2002 SESSION ON 21 JANUARY

CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT TO OPEN 2002 SESSION ON 21 JANUARY

(Reissued as received.)

GENEVA, 18 January (UN Information Service) -- The Conference on Disarmament, the world's sole multilateral forum for disarmament negotiations, will open its 2002 session on Monday, 21 January at the Palais des Nations.  The first public plenary will take place at 10 a.m. on Tuesday, 22 January.

The session will open under the presidency of Mohamed Tawfik, chargé d'affaires of the Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations Office at Geneva.  The presidency of the Conference rotates amongst its Member States according to the English alphabetical order for four-week periods.  During 2002, the presidency of the Conference will also be held by Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany and Hungary.  The Conference's annual session is divided in three parts.  The first part of the session will conclude on 29 March.  The second part will be held from 13 May to 28 June, and the third part from 29 July to 13 September.

In accordance with its rules of procedure, the Conference shall adopt its agenda for the year at the beginning of the session.  In doing so, the Conference shall take into account the recommendations made to it by the UN General Assembly, the proposals by its Members, and decisions of the Conference.

In 2001, the Conference was not able to reach agreement on its programme of work.  While there was agreement on most of the elements of a programme, the main differences remained on nuclear disarmament and prevention of an arms race in outer space.

At its fifty-sixth session, the General Assembly adopted 50 resolutions and decisions concerning disarmament and international security.  Among other resolutions, the General Assembly reaffirmed the role of the Conference on Disarmament as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community and urged it to fulfil that role in light of the evolving international situation.  It reiterated its call on the Conference to establish on a priority basis an Ad Hoc Committee to deal with nuclear disarmament early in 2002 and to commence negotiations and conclude within five years a non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.  It also invited the Conference to establish an Ad Hoc Committee as early as possible during the 2002 session on prevention of an arms race in outer space.

The General Assembly recommended that the Conference actively continue intensive negotiations with a view to reaching early agreement on a common approach that could be included in an international instrument of a legally binding character to assure the non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.  It invited Member States of the Conference to pursue their work on transparency in armaments.  It also called on the Conference to consider the formulation of principles that could serve as a framework for regional agreements on conventional arms control.

In June 2001, the Conference appointed a Special Coordinator on review of the agenda of the Conference, a Special Coordinator on expansion of membership of the Conference, and a Special Coordinator on improved and effective functioning of the Conference.  The General Assembly welcomed the recommendation of the Conference to reappoint the Special Coordinators as early as possible during its 2002 session.

QUESTIONS CONSIDERED BY CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT DURING ITS 2001 SESSION

Cessation of Nuclear Arms Race and Nuclear Disarmament

Nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, covered under item 1 of the agenda entitled "Cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament", were among the most debated issues in the Conference.  The rotating presidency of the Conference continued, throughout the 2001 session, to pursue intensive consultations and to seek the views of the Member States on appropriate methods and approaches for dealing with this agenda item, taking into consideration all proposals and views in this respect. 

In its 2001 session, the General Assembly stressed the importance of establishing an appropriate subsidiary body in the Conference on Disarmament with a mandate to deal with nuclear disarmament as early as possible during its

2002 session in the context of establishing a programme of work.  It expressed its regret that the Conference on Disarmament was unable to establish an Ad Hoc Committee on nuclear disarmament and reiterated its call upon the Conference to establish on a priority basis such an Ad Hoc Committee early in 2002 and to commence negotiations on a phased programme of nuclear disarmament leading to the eventual elimination of nuclear weapons.

The Assembly recalled the decision of the Conference to establish under item 1 of its agenda 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 explosive devices.   The Assembly urged the Conference to agree on a programme of work that included the immediate commencement of negotiations on such a treaty with a view to their conclusion within five years.  It stressed the importance of the establishment of such an Ad Hoc Committee as early as possible in the Conference's 2002 session to negotiate this treaty.

Another resolution which was adopted by the Assembly noted with regret that the Conference on Disarmament during its 2001 session was unable to undertake

negotiations on an international convention prohibiting the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons under any circumstances and requested the Conference to commence negotiations and to report to the General Assembly on the results of those negotiations.

Negative Security Assurances

Effective international arrangements for guaranteeing non-nuclear-arms States against the use or threat of use of such weapons is one of the items on the provisional programme of work of the Conference.  In 1998, the Conference created an Ad Hoc Committee on negative security assurances, but it has not been able to reach consensus on re-establishing the Committee since then.

The General Assembly, in a resolution on conclusion of effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons, noted the difficulties within the Conference with regard to evolving a common approach on an international convention to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.  The Assembly recommended that the Conference actively continue intensive negotiations with a view to reaching early agreement on a common approach and, in particular, on a common formula that could be included in an international instrument of a legally binding character on negative security assurances, taking into account the widespread support for the conclusion of an international convention and giving consideration to any other proposals designed to secure the same objective.

Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space

The prevention of an outer space arms race continued to be one of the two major blocking stones which have not allowed the Conference to adopt its programme of work.  On this subject, the General Assembly called in a resolution upon all States, in particular those with major space capabilities, to contribute actively to the prevention of an arms race in outer space and to refrain from actions contrary to that objective in the interest of maintaining international peace and security and promoting international cooperation.  The Assembly reiterated that the Conference on Disarmament, as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum, has the primary role in the negotiation of a multilateral agreement or agreements, as appropriate, on the prevention of an arms race in outer space. 

The General Assembly invited the Conference to establish an Ad Hoc Committee on this issue as early as possible during the 2002 session.  It recognized the growing convergence of views on the elaboration of measures designed to strengthen transparency, confidence and security in the peaceful uses of outer space and urged States conducting activities in outer space, as well as States interested in conducting such activities, to keep the Conference informed of the progress of bilateral and multilateral negotiations on the matter.

Transparency in Armaments

Concerning transparency in armaments, the General Assembly invited the Conference on Disarmament to consider continuing its work undertaken in this

field.  In a resolution, the Assembly continued to take the view that an enhanced level of transparency in armaments contributed greatly to confidence-building and security among States and that the establishment of the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms constituted an important step forward in the promotion of transparency in military matters.  It reiterated its call upon all Member States to cooperate at the regional and subregional levels, taking fully into account the specific conditions prevailing in the region or subregion, with a view to enhancing and coordinating international efforts aimed at increased openness and transparency in armaments.

Conventional Weapons

With regards to conventional weapons, the Assembly adopted a resolution in which it requested the Conference on Disarmament to consider the formulation of principles that could serve as a framework for regional agreements on conventional arms control.  It looked forward to a report of the Conference on this subject. 

Issues Regarding Organization of Work of Conference

In a resolution, the Assembly reaffirmed the role of the Conference on Disarmament as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community and urged it to fulfil that role in light of the evolving international situation, with a view to making early substantive progress on priority items on its agenda.  The Assembly welcomed the recommendation of the Conference to reappoint the Special Coordinator on review of the agenda of the Conference, the Special Coordinator on expansion of membership of the Conference, and the Special Coordinator on improved and effective functioning of the Conference as early as possible during its 2002 session.

Other Issues

The General Assembly, among other issues, called for renewed efforts by States parties to preserve and strengthen the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems so that it remains a cornerstone in maintaining global strategic stability and world peace and in promoting further strategic nuclear arms reductions.  Concerning regional disarmament, the General Assembly stressed that sustained efforts were needed within the framework of the Conference on Disarmament and under the umbrella of the United Nations to make progress on the entire range of disarmament issues.

Conference on Disarmament

The Conference, which works on the basis of consensus, emerged from the decisions of the 1978 Special Session of the General Assembly on disarmament.  Membership stands at 66.

The Secretary-General of the Conference is Vladimir Petrovsky, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, who is also the Personal Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General.

Member States of Conference

The 66 members of the Conference are Algeria, Argentina, Australia, Bangladesh, Belarus, Belgium, Brazil, Bulgaria, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Cuba, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ecuador, Egypt, Ethiopia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Malaysia, Mexico, Mongolia, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan, Peru, Poland, Republic of Korea, Romania, Russian Federation, Senegal, Slovakia, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yugoslavia and Zimbabwe.

Representatives of the following non-Member States also participated in the 2001 work of the Conference as observers:  Albania, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Brunei Darussalam, Costa Rica, Côte d'Ivoire, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Gabon, Georgia, Ghana, Greece, Holy See, Iceland, Jordan, Latvia, Lebanon, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Madagascar, Malta, Mauritius, Monaco, Nepal, Panama, the Philippines, Portugal, Qatar, Republic of Moldova, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Slovenia, Thailand, former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Uruguay and Zimbabwe.

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