Disarmament Commission

2009 Substantive Session

293^rd & 294^th Meetings (AM PM)

disarmament commission remains deadlocked amid divergent opinions

as delegations seek agreement on agenda

 

Delegates in the Disarmament Commission remained deadlocked for a second day over the layout of the 2009 substantive session as divergent opinions persisted over agenda items for its three-year cycle, which begins this year.

The Commission, a specialized, deliberative body within the United Nations multilateral disarmament machinery, provides a forum for focused deliberation of two or three specific items ‑‑ including one on nuclear weapons and one on conventional arms ‑‑ with the goal of achieving consensus to strengthen or create disarmament norms through the submission of concrete recommendations to the General Assembly.

Throughout today, delegations remained in closed-door consultations, opening the meeting briefly this morning to seek clarification on various proposals and take stock of positions.  The representative of the United States asked about a proposal by the Non-Aligned Movement concerning a recommendation to include an item on elements of a draft declaration of the 2010s as the fourth disarmament decade.

The proposal has its roots in resolution 61/67, by which the Assembly ‑‑ seriously concerned about the current international security climate and recognizing the need for more intensive global efforts to reverse arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation trends ‑‑ directed the Commission, at its 2009 substantive session, to prepare elements of a draft declaration and submit them for consideration at the Assembly’s sixty-fourth session.

Commission Chairman Andrzej Towpik ( Poland) responded by stating that the proposal was indeed still on the table, and that the Commission was also awaiting reactions on a proposal that he had put forward this morning.  Indonesia’s representative, speaking on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement, had indicated that the Movement was still determining its position.

Opening the formal session later in the day, the Chair announced that the Commission would reconvene tomorrow morning in the hope of reaching agreement on an agenda.

The Commission will reconvene at 10 a.m. tomorrow, 15 April, to continue its work.

* *** *

For information media • not an official record