Disarmament Commission

2008 Organizational Session

283^rd Meeting (PM)

United Nations disarmament commission holds organizational meeting;

Substantive session at headquarters 7 – 24 April

 

The United Nations Disarmament Commission elected a Chairman and six Vice-Chairpersons as it held its organizational meeting at Headquarters this afternoon.

Piet de Klerk of the Netherlands was elected Chairman of the Commission by acclamation.  Also elected by acclamation were the representatives of Benin, Cameroon, France, Peru, Philippines and Uzbekistan, who will serve as Vice-Chairmen during the 2008 substantive session.  The election of the Rapporteur, to be from the Group of Latin American and Caribbean States, and the Vice-Chairman, from the Group of Eastern European States, will take place at a later date following consultations within the concerned regional groups.

Also elected during the meeting was Carlos Luis Dantas C. Perez ( Brazil) as the Chairman of Commission’s Working Group II.

In a statement following his election, Mr. De Klerk said that it had been a disappointment to all that the Commission had not been able to overcome the few remaining obstacles towards the successful conclusion of its work in 2007.  It was not an easy task to try to achieve a perfect balance of interest on issues that went to the core of security concepts.  However, despite the inability of the Commission to reach a consensus on attaching Chairman’s papers to the two reports of the Commission’s working groups, it was notable that, during last year’s deliberations, the Commission came close to an agreement.

The Commission should, however, look to the future, he continued.  Despite the fact that the last four years had not been the easiest and most productive for the international multilateral disarmament machinery, the present international climate not only called for urgent measures, but also allowed for a wide variety of undertakings in the field of disarmament.  Also, the inability of the Conference on Disarmament and the Disarmament Commission to yield tangible results had contributed to a heightened sense of urgency on the part of the international community to reform and revitalize the disarmament machinery, so that it could adequately react and respond to emerging threats to global peace and security.

That new element added to an already existing heavy responsibility, he added.  Additionally, the emergence of new kinds of threats and the fact that those threats were rapidly thrust to the forefront of security concerns, with the need to deal with them without delay, had created a new atmosphere of great expectations.  That overall atmosphere of great expectations should positively influence the work of the Commission in 2008.

The representative of Indonesia, speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, said that the cooperation of all Member States was vital for the successful completion of the work of the Commission.  In that regard, the Movement would give its full support and cooperation.  Every effort needed to be made to achieve specific recommendations during the upcoming session.  During the last session, the Movement had put forth its views on the items before Working Group I, but Working Group II still needed work.

In other action today, the Commission agreed to re-establish its two working groups, Working Groups I and II, to deal with two specific items and a committee of the whole to deal with other substantive and organizational matters.

The Commission also reviewed the draft resolution adopted by the General Assembly at its sixty-second session relating to the Disarmament Commission.  By the terms of that draft, the Assembly recommended that the Commission, at its 2008 substantive session, consider recommendations for achieving the objective of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, as well as those for practical confidence-building measures.

It also requested the Commission to meet for a period not exceeding three weeks during 2008, from 7 to 24 April, and to submit a substantive report to the General assembly at its sixty-third session.

The Commission will meet again at 10 a.m. Monday, 7 April.

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For information media • not an official record