General E-News Advisory 2005 Archive

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General E-News Advisories
2005

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December 22
      1) Disarmament Commission adopts an agenda
      2) General Assembly votes on First Committee resolutions
      3) Iran Update

November 30
      1) First Committee Concludes: see the Final Edition of the First Committee Monitor
      2) Global Nuclear Inventory
      3) Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency
      4) Key Issues Page

October 25
1) Links to the First Committee Monitor and
2) Other First Committee resources

October 4
      1) The 60th session of the General Assembly of the UN's First Committee on Disarmament Peace and Security began           yesterday!
      2) The Conference on Disarmament (CD) closes another year without a program of work.
      3) The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)'s fourth Entry Into Force Conference concludes with 2 new
          ratifications (neither by an Annex II state) and no appearance by the US.
      4) The World Summit comes and goes, and Disarmament and Non-Proliferation are deleted from the Outcome
          Document intended to address the 'new security environment'.
      5) Keep Space for Peace Week

September 13
      1) Update on the UN World Summit: new disarmament text and status of negotiations
      2) CTBT EIF Conference Information:
1. NGO Statement: Sign on!
2. Logistics: Side Events and Security
      3) Preparing for the General Assembly’s First Committee on Peace and Security: NGO Working Group Meeting and           side events
      4) Heads up on the Disarmament Index

August 19
      1) CTBT Entry Into Force Conference Information: Registration, NGO Statement, Side Events, Security Information
      2) New M+5 draft Outcome Document now available: analysis of disarmament and non-proliferation section
      3) The Conference on Disarmament (CD) opens its third and final session of 2005

August 1
      1) Introducing the new Project Associate for Reaching Critical Will
      2) Update on the UN Disarmament Commission
      3) Information for NGO Participation on the CTBT Entry-Into-Force Conference, September
            Why this Conference is important
            What NGOs can do
            Links for more information on the CTBT
      4) Seven Nations Seek to Strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Regime

July 18
      1) RCW Fundraising update
      2) The UN Disarmament Commission Opens... Kind of
      3) Conference on Disarmament ends second session of 2005: Substantive discussions prevail despite deadlock on agenda
      4) Hiroshima & Nagasaki Commemorative Events

June 13
      1) Final News in Review now online
      2) NPT Resources
      3) Conference on Disarmament Begins Second Session
      4) NGO Forum on the Millennium+5 Summit

May 13
      1) Model Nuclear Inventory: Accountability is Democracy, Transparency is Security
      2) RCW Project Associate Position Opening
      3) NGO Presentations to the NPT Review Conference

May 9
1) News in Review article, May 9, 2005

April 21
      1) Update on Registration
      2) Limited Seating advisory
      3) NGO Orientation
      4) Women's Caucus
      5) News in Review subscriptions available
      6) Meet the Reaching Critical Will team

April 7
      1) New publication from RCW
      2) Deadline for registration
      3) Side events space still available
      4) Former High-Level Officials Push for Stronger NPT
      5) A Plea By Nobel Laureates, Parliamentarians, the European Parliament and NGOs around the World
      6) May 1 Demonstration
      7) Extension of deadline for submissions to the News in Review

March 17
      1) Dates for the NGO presentations at the NPT Review Conference
      2) Nuclear Weapon Free Zone conference in Mexico
      3) New book by 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference President, Jayantha Dhanapala
      4) Reminder to NGOs to register for the NPT Review Conference

March 10
      1) Reminder that registration for the NPT is open
      2) Notice of motion in the Australian Senate on the NPT Review Conference
      3) the EU Parliament adopts resolution on the NPT
      4) the UK Parliament debates the NPT
      5) UK Parliamentary motions on the NPT

March 1
      1) NGO accreditation information
      2) New publication from RCW: "Nuclear Disarmament: What NOW?!"
      3) News in Review submissions
      4) NGO Campaigns for the NPT
      5) NGO Shadow Report: Accountability is Democracy, Transparency is Security
      6) WILPF at the "Reaching Nuclear Disarmament" workshop in Stockholm, February 25-27
      7) WILPF event on Women, Peace and Security and Militarism
      8) IAEA Expert Panel Report on Multilateralizing the Nuclear Fuel Cycle
      9) In memoriam: Satomi Oba

January 25
      1)Invitation to NGOs to attend to the NPT Review Conference
      2) NGO Registration
      3) What is the role of NGOs at the Review Conference?
      4) What can we hope to achieve?
      5) NGO Statements to the delegates
      6) NGO side events
      7) May Day! Disarm! A massive demonstration for nuclear abolition
      8) Housing Options for NGO representatives
      9) News in Review: the daily NGO newsletter
      10) What can I do if I can't get to New York?
      11) Links for more information

January 5
      1) Reminder to join the NGO NPT Strategy E-Discussion
      2) Enroll your mayor in the Abolition Now! Campaign
      3) Submissions for the News in Review open

*****************

December 22

Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,

In December, governments indicated they are at least willing to discuss nuclear disarmament when they finally agreed to a programme of work in the deliberative Disarmament Commission. After a year of disarmament machinery deadlock and failures, perhaps they are beginning to feel the pressure from civil society and international leaders from Secretary-General Kofi Annan to Pope Benedict XVI, who last week called for nuclear disarmament.

As nuclear weapon states continue to refuse to disarm, they put the world in danger of increasing nuclear proliferation. The EU is struggling to maintain its credibility in acting as a nuclear non-proliferation mediator. Parliamentarians from Belgium, Britain, Norway and Germany are calling for US nukes to be removed from their soil, maintaining nuclear weapons possession damages their legitimacy in non-proliferation negotiations. France, Greece and the Ukraine have already banned foreign nuclear weapons from their territories, although France, of course, has weapons of its own.

The BBC just presented papers showing both the British and Norwegian governments were aware that the heavy water the United Kingdom sold to Norway in the 1950's was bound for Israel. Papers were also released showing Norway was aware Israel was interested in a nuclear weapons program before they resold the heavy water to Israel.

It is not, and has never been, stable or sustainable for select states to possess nuclear weapons while forbidding their possession to others. Non-proliferation efforts urgently require that nuclear weapon states begin true and global disarmament immediately, and the EU must consider viable regional solutions when negotiating with Iran over its nuclear program.

In this E-news Advisory:

1. Disarmament Commission adopts an agenda
2. General Assembly votes on First Committee resolutions
3. Iran Update

Sincerely,

Jennifer Nordstrom
Project Associate

1. Disarmament Commission adopts an agenda
The UN Disarmament Commission (DC), which has been deadlocked for several years, surprisingly agreed to an agenda on Monday, December 12, 2005. At this organizational meeting at UN headquarters, no objections were raised to current Chair Rowe’s compromise proposal on the disputed nuclear disarmament agenda item. Although the item was probably not entirely satisfactory to all parties, no one was willing to block a programme of work.

The agenda for the 2006 substantive session is:

"Recommendations for achieving the objectives of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons."
"Practical confidence-building measures in the field of conventional weapons."
The DC will also consider "Measures for improving the effectiveness of the methods of work of the UNDC", an agenda item the United States has been supporting, much as it has been advocating UN reform in all areas, including the First Committee of the General Assembly (see the US 2004 and 2003 resolutions on First Committee Reform, and UN reform debates at the World Summit in 2005).

The Disarmament Commission, a body open to all Member States under the UN General Assembly, considers and makes recommendations on disarmament problems. Unlike the Conference on Disarmament, it is not a negotiating body, but focuses on discussing two to three disarmament problems over three years, one of which is traditionally nuclear disarmament. It is also supposed to “consider the elements of a comprehensive programme for disarmament to be submitted as recommendations to the General Assembly”. In 1996, the UN DC created 16 Principles of Verification.

The 2006 substantive session will be held from April 10-28, at UN headquarters in New York City. Member States will submit their proposals for the UN DC Bureau in the first two months of 2006, after which they will hold another organizational meeting. The Asian Group is slated for Chair and the African Group for rapporteur. A bureau with strong support for disarmament and a good diplomatic track record will help Member States use the UN DC as a venue for real discussions on how to make progress in disarmament.

2. General Assembly votes on First Committee resolutions
The UN General Assembly passed all the resolutions submitted by the First Committee (Disarmament Committee) of the General Assembly on December 8, 2005, with one, “Transparency in Armaments”, to be put to a vote by the end of this week. Very few votes changed between October, when UN member states discussed, drafted and negotiated resolutions on disarmament and international security, and the plenary sessions of the General Assembly.

The General Assembly usually approves the resolutions submitted to it by the First Committee, and while more states tend to be present for the plenary votes, there are not usually many changes in position. The most significant changes this year were on the small arms omnibus resolution and the resolution on the prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS).

The First Committee controversially called for a vote on operative paragraph two of the traditionally consensus small arms resolution, and Mexico and Jamaica abstained to protest that the consensus-seeking paragraph did not call for a legally binding instrument on marking and tracing small arms. However, the resolution was adopted without a vote in the General Assembly.

On the annual PAROS resolution, Israel changed its sole abstention in the First Committee to a no vote, joining the only other no vote from the United States. There were no other abstentions. According to its explanation of vote in the First Committee, the United State voted against the resolution because “there is no arms race in outer space”. Ironically, many Member States and citizens are most concerned about possible US deployment of weapons in space. Russia has unilaterally declared it will not be the first nation to deploy weapons, and has invited other nations to join it in such confidence-building declarations. The US was the only vote against the new Russian resolution "Measures to promote transparency and confidence-building in outer space", in both the First Committee and the GA plenary, with Israel abstaining.

Taking into account these changes between the two, the First Committee, and consequently the General Assembly, was characterized by attempts at, and impediments to progress.

The United States voted against 22 resolutions out of 60, about 10 no votes ahead of the United Kingdom, Israel and France, who were the next most likely to break consensus.

The United States and Iran both engaged in finger-pointing on non-proliferation and disarmament via their resolutions on compliance and follow-up to nuclear disarmament obligations, respectively (For more information, see the Verification and Compliance and Nuclear Disarmament Reports in the Final Edition of The First Committee Monitor). Both resolutions passed, although the vote on the Iranian resolution was so close that there were gasps from the floor during the tally in the First Committee.

In dealing with the dysfunctional disarmament machinery tasked with addressing these weapons systems, the First Committee delved into issues of consensus and unilateralism. The conversation on the purpose of consensus and its abuse will continue as various international disarmament fora struggle to adapt to a changed, and changing, geopolitical context. (For more information, see The First Committee Monitor’s Introduction Week 3 and Disarmament Machinery Report Weeks 1 and 2) On the last day of the First Committee, Mexico insisted the Disarmament Commission adopt an agenda by the beginning of its 2006 session, by vote if necessary. The DC adopted an agenda at its December 12, 2005 organizational meeting, and will begin substantive deliberations in 2006.

A new alliance of six countries, Brazil, Canada, Kenya, Mexico, New Zealand and Sweden, presented a creative proposal to the First Committee to establish four open-ended ad-hoc committees under the General Assembly consistent with the Five Ambassadors' (A5) proposal for a Conference on Disarmament (CD) programme of work. Although a draft resolution was not tabled, it caused a stir and demonstrated creative problem solving to address the deadlock in the CD. If there is no progress in the world's sole multilateral disarmament negotiating forum, the resolution will hopefully be tabled next year with broader support. (For more information, see The First Committee Monitor’s Disarmament Machinery Report in the Final Edition) The CD will begin its 2006 substantive session January 23, 2006. Subscribe to Reaching Critical Will’s CD Report to keep up on whether the CD will respond to this pressure and finally adopt a programme of work!

Other positive developments this year included the New Agenda Coalition’s (NAC) decision to vote for the Japanese nuclear disarmament resolution in solidarity, despite having reservations about it, and China’s first-ever for the resolution supporting the Mine Ban Treaty, though it is still not party to the Treaty. Both the New Agenda Coalition and Japan reworked their annual nuclear disarmament resolutions this year in light of the failed Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference and the 60 year anniversary of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (For more information, see the New Agenda and Renewed Determination and Landmines Reports in the Final Edition of the First Committee Monitor.)

3. Iran Update
While the IAEA has not taken any action regarding Iran’s nuclear program since our last E-news Advisory, escalatory rhetoric among the parties has continued. In case you have missed the constant media coverage, the brief recap is that Iran continues its inflammatory statements about Israel, Israel declared Iranian uranium enrichment as the point of no return and therefore their deadline for diplomatic action, and Iran insisted that it would enrich uranium in Iran. The EU and the US remain very concerned, and continue to explore all diplomatic avenues. However, Iran just preemptively passed a law that would limit international access to its facilities if the IAEA refers it to the Security Council. Yesterday in Vienna, the EU3 and Iran agreed to continue discussions next month, meaning there may be enough common ground to renew negotiations.

Interestingly, the US Army War College published a paper, “Getting Ready for a Nuclear-Ready Iran” (you can download the entire publication), in which it acknowledged that neither diplomatic nor military action would prevent Iran from acquiring nuclear weapons capabilities. This paper therefore suggested that the best way to resolve the crisis would be through Israel dismantling its nuclear program. A Nuclear Weapon Free Zone in the Middle East has been conceptually universally endorsed, but not concretely acted on. With this crisis heating up, it is time to look at regional solutions in a pragmatic and realistic way. The Middle East and the world cannot afford to risk another nuclear arms race.

Civil Society has been following this process closely, and supports non-military solutions to the crisis. The global majority understand that cascading proliferation, particularly in the volatile Middle East, is a threat to life on earth, and that the only appropriate way to deal with this threat is through global, irreversible, verifiable nuclear disarmament. The Nuclear Weapon States have a responsibility to lead this planet-saving action, starting now. Read the Civil Society and Parliamentarians letter to decision-makers, and sign on.

November 30

Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,

The First Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security concluded earlier this month with indications that governments and civil society, with few exceptions, are ready and willing to come together to make real progress on disarmament. Reaching Critical Will is making the most of this sentiment, and the time this coming spring with no meeting of States Parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, by bringing together civil society to work on disarmament and non-proliferation. We know that with the disarmament deadlock and the increasing risks of nuclear weapons, real work with concrete results is urgently needed. Civil society has the freedom to take the lead by coming together to create a Global Nuclear Inventory of the world’s nuclear weapons, materials, reactors and policies, both military and civilian, in order to impel progress on both nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.

In this E-News Advisory:

First Committee Concludes: see the Final Edition of the First Committee Monitor
Global Nuclear Inventory
Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency
Key Issues Page

As always, this and all other General E-News Advisories from Reaching Critical Will are archived on our website. We welcome any feedback, comments, questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Nordstrom
Project Associate

1. First Committee Concludes
The UN General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security concluded early this month by passing 60 draft resolutions covering issues from small arms to nuclear disarmament to the prevention of an arms race in outer space. Reaching Critical Will followed the proceedings every day, and our summary reports on all the issues covered, published weekly and distributed to our email list and to the delegates in The First Committee Monitor, are available at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/FCM.html

The Final Edition of The Monitor, with summaries of all the proceedings, is available at http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/FCM05/week5.html, the final voting results on all draft resolutions are available at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/1com05/res/resindex.html

We would appreciate hearing your opinions on The Monitor, if and how it is useful to you, and how it might be improved. To send us your thoughts, please fill out our online questionnaire: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/questionnaire.htm

2. Global Nuclear Inventory
Reaching Critical Will is using the spring 2006 break in the Non-Proliferation Treaty preparatory committee and review conference meetings as an opportunity to generate collaborative proactive progress on nuclear disarmament. The Global Nuclear Inventory (GNI), a comprehensive and systematized update of RCW’s Model Nuclear Inventory, centralizes information on nuclear weapons, materials and policies.

Focused on 44 countries, including the Nuclear Weapon States and all those that have a significant civilian nuclear program, this disarmament education report offers vital information to mobilize civil society and prompt decision-makers to action. Not unlike the Landmine Monitor or the Small Arms Survey, this report is an NGO research contribution designed to prompt governments to fulfill their obligations under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

The Global Nuclear Inventory will not only improve the quality and detail of information provided on nuclear weapons, materials and policies, it will also bring NGOs together in a results-based joint activity, providing an opportunity to coordinate strategies and international messaging on nuclear disarmament.

If you would like to contribute to the production of the Global Nuclear Inventory, please contact the Project Associate. To read the Model Nuclear Inventory online, follow this link: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/about/pubs/Inventory.html

If you would like a copy of the printed version of the Model Nuclear Inventory, send a $20 check made out to Jane Addams Peace Association to: Reaching Critical Will—WILPF, 777 UN Plaza, 6th floor, New York, NY, 10017, with Model Nuclear Inventory in the subject line.

3. Iran and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)
Developments surrounding international disagreement over Iran’s nuclear program have tumbled out over the past month. Following last month’s IAEA Board of Governors resolution that found Iran in non-compliance with its nuclear safeguards agreement, developments have taken place under the threat of possible referral to the Security Council, as the resolution stipulated the situation was within the Council’s competence.

Russia has since put forward a proposal to enrich Iran’s uranium in Russia, endorsed by the EU3 (France, Germany, and the UK) and then rejected by Iran. Earlier this month, Iran voluntarily turned over blueprints obtained from the Khan network of how to build the core of a nuclear warhead to the IAEA. However, the IAEA decided at its November 24 Board of Governors Meeting to not immediately refer Iran to the Security Council. Iran hardened its bargaining position after the meeting, insisting that negotiations with the EU3 be based on creating nuclear fuel in Iran while the EU3 softened its stance by agreeing to resume negotiations even if Iran does not suspend its enrichment activities.

Reaching Critical Will is following the developments closely, and is posting news items on its new Iran web page, including recent developments, background, key issues, and resources. http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/legal/iran.html

4. Key Issues Page
Reaching Critical Will has recently gathered all our issue-based web pages into one “Key Issues Index Page” for easy access and reference. The Key Issues page has links to pages on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space, a Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and a nuclear weapons convention, among others. In addition to our new web page on Iran (see above) we are also developing a page that will follow developments in the 6-Party talks and North Korea, and a new page on nuclear terrorism.

Also check out our key issues page to see the latest developments on the other weapons systems you follow. For instance:

the Second Review Conference of the Mine Ban Treaty is being held this week (Nov 28 to Dec 2) in Zagreb, Croatia;
the 2005 annual meeting of States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention will be held next week (Dec 5 to Dec 9) under the Chairmanship of Ambassador John Freeman of the United Kingdom; and
the 10th Session of the Conference of States Parties to the Chemical Weapons Convention was held from November 7 to 11 in The Hague.

See the Key Issues Page at: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/indexkeyissues.html

****************************
Jennifer Nordstrom
Project Associate, Reaching Critical Will

October 25

Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,

I would like to take a moment to remind you of one of RCW's contributions to disarmament: The First Committee Monitor. Every year, RCW coordinates a team of NGO reporters to monitor and report on the General Assembly First Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security.

You can find the First Committee Monitor here:
http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/FCM.html (You can have these summaries emailed to you, in HTML or PDF form, by replying to this email with 'subscribe HTML' or 'subscribe PDF' in the subject line)

The Third Edition of the First Committee Monitor is here: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/FCM05/week3.html (in html)
http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/FCM05/2005wk3.pdf (in pdf)

In addition to reporting on the significance of the discussions, RCW is promoting governmental transparency and accountability by making available:

Governmental statements made to the First Committee here: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/1com05/statements/statements.html

Draft Resolutions, Votes, and Explanations of Vote here:
http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/1com05/res/resindex.html

A compilation of all the disarmament, peace and security references made in the High Level General Debate:
http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/1com05/disarmindex/disarmindex05.htm

A compilation of the disarmament, peace and security references made at the World Summit: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/1com05/disarmindex/disarmindexsummit.html

****************************
Jennifer Nordstrom
Project Associate, Reaching Critical Will

October 4

Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,

We are beginning another session of the General Assembly's First Committee on Peace and Security in the wake of numerous failed outcomes in disarmament this year. Can we bring ourselves to hope for governmental progress again? Although we know we must continue to work regardless, the whispers around this session of the First Committee indicate that we may have cause to hope for concrete progress by governments. Finally, after nine years of deadlock in the Conference on Disarmament, after a Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference with no substantive outcome, after a World Summit with no reference to disarmament or non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in its Outcome Document, in the 60th year of the continued existence of nuclear weapons since their first on civilians, governments are thinking about new ways to make the disarmament machinery at their disposal work. The people of the world must encourage them to succeed; we must insist they succeed.

In this E-news Advisory:

The 60th session of the General Assembly of the UN's First Committee on Disarmament Peace and Security began yesterday!
The Conference on Disarmament (CD) closes another year without a program of work.
The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)'s fourth Entry Into Force Conference concludes with 2 new ratifications (neither by an Annex II state) and no appearance by the US.
The World Summit comes and goes, and Disarmament and Non-Proliferation are deleted from the Outcome Document intended to address the 'new security environment'.
Keep Space for Peace Week

As always, this and all other General E-News Advisories from Reaching Critical Will are archived on our website. We welcome any feedback, comments, questions or concerns.

Sincerely,
Jennifer Nordstrom
Project Associate

1. The 60th session of the General Assembly of the UN's First Committee on Disarmament Peace and Security began yesterday, October 3, 2005.
The First Committee is the UN committee of the General Assembly that deals with issues of disarmament and international security. All 191 Member States of the UN are welcome to attend, debate the issues, and draft, negotiate and vote on resolutions during this 4-5 week session every October. This year the First Committee will run from Monday, October 3, to Tuesday, November 1. (See the First Committee meeting schedule and Calendar of events)

Following several failed attempts by governments to come to consensus on disarmament and non-proliferation issues this year, there is hope that the traditionally conservative First Committee will use this 60th session to make progress on the impasse. The First Committee has the procedural advantage of voting, giving it options unavailable to the deadlocked Conference on Disarmament (CD) and failed Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference that operate by consensus.

Reaching Critical Will monitors the First Committee and reports on what happens there in the weekly First Committee Monitor and catalogs all statements, non-papers and resolutions. We will keep you up on the developments of 2005 if you subscribe to the Monitor (type 1comsubscribe in the subject line). This year's Monitor features a new layout and the most exciting First Committee news including reports on: new initiatives in disarmament machinery, disarmament and non-proliferation, First Committee and UN Reform, the 7-nation initiative, the New Agenda Coalition, Preventing an Arms Race in Outer Space, negotiations on a Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty, Negative Security Assurances, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, disarmament and development, terrorism, small arms and light weapons, biological and chemical weapons, and landmines.

2. The Conference on Disarmament (CD) closes another year without a program of work. This is the ninth consecutive year the CD has failed to come to agreement on a program of work. Current CD President Peru recently offered another take on the Five Ambassadors (A5) Proposal for a programme of work, combining the A5 proposal with the suggestions made by Ambassador Chris Sanders' (Netherlands) in his "Food for thought" non-paper earlier this year. According to Japanese Ambassador Mine, Peru's proposal, CD 1757, does not have a great deal of support, but discussions on it will continue during consultations at this year's First Committee. See the full report on the last formal CD session of 2005.

3. The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT)'s fourth Entry Into Force Conference concludes with 2 new ratifications (neither by an Annex II state) and no appearance by the US.
From September 21-23, parties and signatories to the CTBT gathered in New York to discuss how to bring the Treaty into force more quickly. The conference made clear that although progress on entry-into-force of the Treaty is slow, and is being boycotted and actively opposed by the United States, it is still happening. Although it has yet to become international law through formal entry-into-force, it is establishing a legal norm, with 176 signatures and 125 ratifications. The new Executive Secretary of the CTBT Organization, Ambassador Tibor Toth, also reported that two-thirds of the verification system has been built. At the conference, Haiti and Antigua and Barbuda announced their ratifications. See more highlights from the conference here.

4. The World Summit comes and goes, and Disarmament and Non-Proliferation are deleted from the Outcome Document intended to address the 'new security environment'.
At the World Summit, governments reached agreement on development aid, on climate change, on human rights, on management reform, on peace-building, and almost every issue but disarmament and non-proliferation. Disarmament and non-proliferation issues (see the Aug 5 version of the section) were so contested that Member States deleted the entire section from the consensus-approved Outcome Document. The United Nations reform that was supposed to take place at the World Summit in order to address the 'new security environment' did not address nuclear weapons.

Secretary-General Kofi Annan called this a disgrace, and he was right. (RCW's Summit Disarmament Index has all the related governmental quotes from the high-level plenary session, as well as quotes on other issues in disarmament and international security.) Once again, attempts to bridge the deadlock ran into the same handful of spoilers using the rules of consensus to block the democratic majority. However, democracy cannot be thwarted forever, at the governmental level or at the grassroots. The vast majority of states will eventually come together forge a path of progress on the commonly accepted disarmament and non-proliferation provisions like the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, and the vast majority of people will eventually come together to force the states to abolish nuclear weapons. Subscribe to the First Committee Monitor to follow the next chapter in this unfolding saga of geopolitics.

5. Keep Space for Peace Week, Oct 1-8.
The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is co-sponsoring Keep Space for Peace Week, including a demonstration at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. Events from around the world are listed on the RCW website, and on the Global Network Against Weapons and Nuclear Power in Space website. For more information, see the WILPF information leaflet on Keep Space for Peace Week or contact Carol Urner or Bruce Gagnon.

****************************
Jennifer Nordstrom
Project Associate, Reaching Critical Will

September 13

Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,

Tomorrow, the World Summit (Millennium + 5 Summit) on UN Reform begins, which means negotiations on its Outcome Document are scheduled to conclude today. The Summit has been touted as the most change in the history of the United Nations, and the most important meeting since the its inception 60 years ago. However, the actual results of all the discussions remain unclear. As of this writing, the disarmament and non-proliferation section of the draft Outcome Document is empty.

In the 60th anniversary year of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, our governments have failed to answer Kofi Annan's call to use this Summit as an opportunity to make bold commitments in order to breathe new life into all forums dealing with disarmament and non-proliferation following the failed 2005 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference. However, similar to the Review Conference, during Summit negotiations most governments agreed on a path of progress on these issues, but were thwarted by the dedicated efforts of a handful of spoilers. As Civil Society, we must get creative during next month's First Committee and work with governments committed to a world free of nuclear weapons to see around and through the blocks of a few states.

In this E-News Advisory:

Update on the UN World Summit: new disarmament text and status of negotiations
CTBT EIF Conference Information:
1. NGO Statement: Sign on!
2. Logistics: Side Events and Security
Preparing for the General Assembly’s First Committee on Peace and Security: NGO Working Group Meeting and side events
Heads up on the Disarmament Index

1. Update on the UN World Summit: new disarmament text and status of negotiations

Governments continue to negotiate 'UN reform' for the upcoming World Summit. The Summit will be held at UN Headquarters in New York City this coming Wednesday through Friday, September 14 – 16. World leaders have now gone through four draft Outcome Documents for the summit, and are currently re-negotiating the text from the sixth revision of September 12, 2005, 12:30 pm available here.

The disarmament and non-proliferation section of the current version of the Outcome Document is blank. When governments could not agree on the September 6 language on disarmament and non-proliferation, they tasked Pakistan, Australia and Norway with crafting a "short, balanced text on principles". Their first draft of September 9 has been further watered down to the text they are now using to negotiate, available here. These seven paragraphs have been agreed to by a ‘contact group’ of States who are now steering the process: the five Permanent Members of the Security Council plus India, Pakistan, Canada, Brazil, South Africa, Japan, the Netherlands, Mexico, Jamaica, and Egypt, but not necessarily by anyone else.

In this text, the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) is not referred to by name, the Conference on Disarmament (CD) is not tasked with adopting a programme of work, and there is nothing on the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), a Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty (FMCT), or the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS). Previous versions of the disarmament and non-proliferation section included:

a call to accede to the NPT, support for a CTBT;
a call to negotiate an FMCT and effective measures on PAROS in a programme of work in the CD; and
an appeal to the Nuclear Weapon States (NWS) to take concrete steps toward the elimination of nuclear weapons, including through the implementation of Article VI of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The section on disarmament and non-proliferation is still contentious and undecided. Although the US led the way to slashing all disarmament references (see John Bolton’s letter on the disarmament and non-proliferation section of the document in which he does not see a need for any emphasis on disarmament because “the true threat to international security stems from proliferation”), other governments quickly followed the US lead with their own consensus-blocking and language-weakening revisions. Presumably language on the NPT is now missing due to objections from the three non-States Parties to the Treaty: India, Pakistan and Israel.

2. CTBT EIF Conference Information:

1. NGO Statement: Sign on!

NGOs are permitted to make one statement to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Entry Into Force conference, to be held at UN Headquarters September 21-23, 2005. In 2003, we had nearly 100 NGOs sign on to a joint NGO statement, and I would like to invite all RCW’s NGO friends and advisors to sign on this year.

The statement is available on the RCW website here; it was a collaborative drafting process by over a half dozen disarmament NGOs, including the Arms Control Association, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom-Geneva Office & Reaching Critical Will, the International Network of Engineers and Scientists Against Proliferation, Physicians for Social Responsibility, Religions for Peace, Peace Depot and the Fellowship of Reconciliation.

Please send your endorsements to jennifer@reachingcriticalwill.org, with your name and organization.

2. Logistics: Side Events and Security

Side Events: NGOs have Conference Room A for the duration of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) conference. If you would like to hold a meeting or side event please send it to me immediately and I will add it to the calendar of events, which will soon be available in the CTBT section of the RCW website.

Security: Registration will take place:

11 am - 4 pm September 21
9 am - 4 pm September 22
9:30 am - 4 pm September 23

NGOs attending the CTBT EIF Conference must enter at the 48th Street entrance. After passing through the gate, head toward a white tent at the back of the garden area in the direction of the East River and FDR drive. The second of two white tents is for NGOs and Press.

Because of the high level events during the month of September, security will be very VERY tight. You must carry your passport or photo identification at all times, and it is a good idea to also carry copies of any communication you have had with UN officials regarding your attendance at the conference. The less extraneous materials (purses, backpacks, briefcases) you carry, the faster the security check will be, for you and everyone else. You should expect long lines and waiting time.

Here, the Department for Disarmament Affairs (DDA) will ask for your photo ID and locate you in the database provided that you applied for accreditation, met the criteria for accreditation and were informed of such by the DDA. No person without accreditation from DDA will be admitted to the UN for any reason. They will then create a pass printout for you to take to the UN Security photo stations set up alongside the computer stations right next to the DDA desk. You will go there to get your pass.

Once your pass has been created, you will proceed down the garden promenade to the UN entrance to Level 1-B, the floor with both Conference Room 4 and Conference Room A, the two rooms where side events will be held. The Conference itself will be held in the Trusteeship Council, which you will be able to access via the 3rd floor entrance to the gallery. Although you will have access to the UN cafeteria, expect crowds.

3. Preparing for the General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security: NGO Working Group Meeting and side events

The 2005 General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament, Peace and Security is coming up next month. As the first meeting of the First Committee since the failed NPT Review Conference and immediately following the developments and reforms taking place at the World Summit, there is a great deal of work to do. Civil Society needs to get creative and work with governments on finding ways around and through the current consensus blocks, and the First Committee is an ideal opportunity for this.

Now is the time to start preparing for a dynamic First Committee. Everyone who is interested in working on the NGO Working Group on the First Committee Monitor, the only comprehensive weekly report distributed at the First Committee (see previous issues here), should contact RCW immediately to participate in the NGO Working Group on the First Committee Monitor. The NGO Working Group collaborates on monitoring and reporting on the First Committee to other NGOs and the delegates. The first preparatory meeting will be held next week in New York City.

Side events are an excellent way to educate each other, delegations and members of the Secretariat on a broad range of disarmament and security issues ranging from missiles to radioactive waste. NGO side events, while a relatively new phenomenon during the First Committee, are becoming increasingly popular with both diplomats and civil society. NGOs have also held strategy sessions during the NPT. If you are planning a side event, meeting or strategy session and would like to hold it in the UN, please contact RCW.

4. Heads up on the Disarmament Index

During the General Debate of the General Assembly, RCW complies all references to disarmament, peace and security and posts them online by country. The statements from the General Debate will give us an idea of the issues on which governments will be focusing during the First Committee. This will be available following the General Debate on the RCW website: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/1com05/disarmindex.html

****************************
Jennifer Nordstrom
Project Associate, Reaching Critical Will

August 19

Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,

As we approach the 60th Session of the General Assembly, predictions of possible outcomes of the Millennium+5 Summit on UN Reform are everywhere. There are many players in these negotiations, but the rumor mill is particularly focused on the positions of the United States. At the moment, the US remains staunchly opposed to strong references to disarmament and to the entry-into force of the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). As we come up on yet another CTBT Entry-Into Force (EIF) Conference and look back on the shambles of the failed 2005 Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, let us commemorate the recent 60th anniversary of the US atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki by insisting disarmament be included in this round of change.

In this E-news Advisory:
1. CTBT Entry Into Force Conference Information: Registration, NGO Statement, Side Events, Security Information
2. New M+5 draft Outcome Document now available: analysis of disarmament and non-proliferation section
3. The Conference on Disarmament (CD) opens its third and final session of 2005

As always, this and all other General E-News Advisories from Reaching Critical Will are archived on our website. We welcome any feedback, comments, questions or concerns.

Best wishes,
Jennifer Nordstrom
Project Associate

1. CTBT EIF Conference Information: Registration, NGO Statement, Press Conference, Side Events, Security

At this year's Comprehensive nuclear Test Ban Treaty Entry-Into Force (EIF) Conference, to be held at UN headquarters in New York from September 21-23, Reaching Critical Will will serve as the NGO liaison to the conference. All NGOs interested in attending this conference must read the Department for Disarmament Affair's aide memoire, now available on the RCW website, where you can also find the draft provisional agenda for the conference. For more information about what the conference is and why it is important, please see the last E-News Advisory.

Registration Deadline: August 30
NGOs wishing to attend the conference must register with the Department for Disarmament Affairs (DDA) no later than August 30. NGOs should send their list of delegates to the conference to:

Mr. Nikolai Rogosaroff, Associate Expert
Weapons of Mass Destruction Branch
Department for Disarmament Affairs (DDA)
United Nations Headquarters
Room 3170F
New York, NY 10017 USA
Tel: +1 (917) 367 2158
Fax: +1 (212) 963 8892
E-mail: rogosaroff@un.org

If you do not have a UN grounds pass, you also need to fax or email the accreditation form on page four of the aide memoire to Nikolai Rogosaroff (rogosaroff@un.org; (212) 963-8892) no later than August 30. The accreditation forms are also available on the DDA website at: http://disarmament2.un.org/wmd/ and the CTBTO web site at: www.ctbto.org. The letter should be sent of faxed on letterhead, and should list the names of the NGO delegates to the conference.

NGO Statement
The NGOs will deliver their collective statement to the conference during our one allotted five minute portion of the agenda on the afternoon of Friday, September 23. NGOs wishing to participate in drafting and editing this statement should email the RCW Project Associate (jennifer@reachingcriticalwill.org).

Press Conference
NGOs will hold a press conference during the CTBT EIF Conference. This conference presents a unique opportunity to highlight the CTBT--and disarmament generally--because the conference is occurring at the same time as the Millennium+5 (M+5) Summit. Moreover, the US is vocally resisting any reference to the Entry-Into-Force of the CTBT in the M+5 Outcome Document, such as those in the newest draft Outcome Document (more discussion of the most recent M+5 document is below and on our website). Continued vocal support for the entry-into force of the CTBT is crucial as governments negotiate the outcome of the Summit.

Side Events
NGOs will have access to Conference Room A for the duration of the conference. Anyone wishing to organize an NGO side event in Conference Room A during the conference should contact the RCW Project Associate by September 9.

Security Information
The CTBT EIF will be happening at the same time as the Millennium+5 Summit, where over 120 heads of state are expected to attend, so security will be extraordinarily tight. It is absolutely imperative that everyone wishing to attend the conference register with DDA before August 30.You will not be
able to attend the conference if you do not register. You must also have your UN grounds pass on you at all times.

2. M+5 draft Outcome Document

The most recent draft Outcome Document for the Millennium+5 (M+5) Summit, to be held in New York at the start of the 60th Session of the General Assembly, was released on Friday, August 5, 2005, and a new round of negotiations on the document is scheduled to begin August 22, 2005.

The section on disarmament and non-proliferation contained several notable changes since the last draft (July 22), including:
References to a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) were deleted from a stand-alone paragraph and combined with language addressing both an FMCT and Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space in the context of agreeing on an agenda in the Conference on Disarmament;
The word "indefinite" was deleted from the language on "maintaining an indefinite moratorium on nuclear test explosions pending the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty";
Language on the prevention of the spread of nuclear technology and alternatives to nuclear technology, which previously preceded the now stand-alone declaration on respecting the peaceful use of nuclear technology, was deleted;
A bullet point calling on the Nuclear Weapon States to reaffirm their commitment to Negative Security Assurances (NSAs) was added;
More specific language on prevention non-state actors' acquisition of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and complying with Security Council Resolution 1540 was added;
Language contextualizing a call for universal accession to the comprehensive safeguards agreement as deterring nuclear proliferation was deleted in exchange for language contextualizing the call as a method for strengthening "verification by the IAEA of the peaceful use of nuclear energy";
and a call to adopt the Model Additional Protocol was added in the same paragraph.
Some of these changes, such as those referring to the CTBT, Physical Protection of Nuclear Material and peaceful uses, appear to have come from the joint proposal for the draft Outcome Document of the UN Summit by Seven Nations (Australia, Chile, Indonesia, Norway, Romania, South Africa and the United Kingdom) seeking to strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime.

Several NGOs, including WILPF, sent a letter to governments on August 17 advising Member States to maintain the current language on disarmament and offering suggestions for strengthening that language.

Because a new round of negotiations on the Outcome Document is scheduled to begin Monday, August 22, now is the time for you to contact your government and advocate for stronger disarmament language. Contact your Foreign Ministry and UN Ambassador and urge them to maintain strong references to disarmament and to the CTBT. You can send the NGO letter to your government or use it, or our other resources, as your talking points.

3. The CD opens its third and final session of 2005

The Conference on Disarmament opened its third and final session of 2005 last Thursday, August 11. Here is the RCW CD Report, the only ongoing reporting on the world's lone body for negotiating disarmament treaties, from that first session.

To receive the CD Reports, subscribe today, or visit our website for archived CD Reports, governmental statements, Summary of Statements by Topic, and the RCW Guide to the CD.

****************************
Jennifer Nordstrom
Project Associate, Reaching Critical Will

August 1

Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,

In her novel, The Parable of the Sower, Octavia Butler wrote that, "The only lasting truth is change." The protagonist of her story taught that while change is the only constant force in the world, it is up to all of us to affect change and shape it in a positive way.

That determination lies at the heart of the efforts of civil society, which works tirelessly to change the destiny of our planet from a nuclear nightmare to a nuclear-free peace. Sometimes, opportunities for change are squandered, as we saw this past May with the failed Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (see News in Review, Final Edition). The international disarmament community just lost another opportunity, too, as the United Nations Disarmament Commission closed its organizational session without agreement on an agenda.

Yet always, another opportunity for change lies just around the corner, and it is up to us to seize it to push the disarmament agenda forward and continue the struggle to abolish nuclear weapons. The Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Entry-Into-Force Conference is just a few weeks away, as is the Millennium+5 Summit and the 60th session of the General Assembly; all of these events are momentous opportunities around which civil society must begin to organize now.

Reaching Critical Will, too, is undergoing a significant change itself: as of August 5, Rhianna Tyson will no longer be the RCW Project Manager. Jennifer Nordstrom will be taking over the RCW project as of August 3. After that date, all RCW-related inquiries should be sent to jennifer@reachingcriticalwill.org.

In this E-News Advisory:

      1) Introducing the new Project Associate for Reaching Critical Will
      2) Update on the UN Disarmament Commission
      3) Information for NGO Participation on the CTBT Entry-Into-Force Conference, September
            Why this Conference is important
            What NGOs can do
            Links for more information on the CTBT
      4) Seven Nations Seek to Strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Regime

As always, this E-News Advisory, along with all others, is archived on our site. We welcome all comments, questions and concerns regarding this and all other services from Reaching Critical Will.

On a personal note, I would like to give a great big thank you to all of RCW's friends and advisors for your support, advice and dedication to making this world nuclear-free.

My very best wishes,
Rhianna

1) Introducing the new Project Associate for Reaching Critical Will

The WILPF United Nations Office is proud to announce that Jennifer Nordstrom will be taking over the Reaching Critical Will project as of August 3. Jennifer comes to RCW from Global Action to Prevent War, where she was the International Coordinator responsible for planning and implementing GAPW's programs, organizing conferences and events and coordinating the communications among GAPW's National Steering Committees and international members.

Jennifer worked to create links among conflict prevention, disarmament, gender and peacekeeping communities with the belief that civil society is the emerging global superpower required to reign in governments. She has a long history working in the peace and feminist movements and is thrilled to be working for disarmament with a gender perspective at Reaching Critical Will. Contact her at: jennifer@reachingcriticalwill.org.

Rhianna, meanwhile, will continue to work with Reaching Critical Will on its Informal Board of Advisers as she pursues her Master's degree in Global Politics at the London School of Economics. She can be reached at: ryetyson@yahoo.com.

2) Update on the UN Disarmament Commission

On July 26, the UN Disarmament Commission (UNDC) concluded its organizational meeting without reaching agreement on an agenda for its substantive session.

Expectations for this UNDC session rose and fell like a carnival roller coaster. In the weeks leading up to its commencement, agreement on an agenda was nowhere in sight; the battle over the two-item agenda mainly focused over one versus two references to "non-proliferation" in the first item, and the inclusion of "verification mechanisms" in the discussion surrounding "practical confidence-building measures in the field of conventional weapons". With the informal consultations articulating the diversity of opinion on these issues, most diplomats and UNDC-watchers expected the Commission to convene only once, to allow for some delegation to suggest postponing it another year. Most high-level representatives went home, on holiday or back to Geneva.

Then, unexpectedly, the United States, which had been holding out for the second reference to "non-proliferation", agreed ad referendum to drop this insistence. When the focus then turned toward the inclusion of "verification mechanisms" in the second agenda item, many other Member States, including South Africa, China, the Non-Aligned (NAM) and Russia, agreed with the United States that it was not necessary to discuss verification, since, according to GA resolution 59/60, a Group of Governmental Experts will be convening in 2006 to explore that issue.

It seemed then that consensus was nearly at hand. All were waiting, quite literally, with baited breath for the United States delegate to return to the room to announce if his capitol could accept the compromise. After a few postponed sessions, the US threw in another stipulation: it could, conceivably, accept the proposed agenda, so long as the Commission could agree to another item on its agenda: improving the effectiveness of the working methods of the UNDC.

A predictable debate ensued, with many Member States, while supporting the idea of reviewing the Commission's methods of work, reluctant to establish a third agenda item. The Chair pursued a compromise, wherein the report would state that "the issue of measures for improving the effectiveness of the methods of work of the Disarmament Commission will be considered in plenary meetings at its 2006 substantive session, with equitable time allocated to it.” A good few hours were spent debating the word "equitable" versus "equal". "Equitable" won out.

The report, which will be submitted to the General Assembly 60th session, will convey that there was agreement, but not consensus, on the two following agenda items: “Recommendations for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in all its aspects, in particular for achieving the objective of nuclear disarmament”; and “Practical confidence-building measures in the field of conventional weapons”. The report will also refer to the United States delegation’s 22 July proposal of an oral amendment to the first agenda item, as follows: “Recommendations for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons”.

If reaching agreement on an agenda was this difficult, let us not yet dare to imagine how painstaking the actual substantive negotiations will be.

Fax, email and call your representatives here in New York. Let them know that you know what has been happening in the UNDC, and that you expect them, when the substantive session is convened next year, to work towards negotiating concrete recommendations for irreversible, verifiable nuclear disarmament.

The UNDC, like all of our multilateral disarmament machinery, is only as effective as the Member States will it to be. And the efficacy of that political will depends entirely on the pressure that you- as those whom they represent- place on them.

3) Information for NGO Participation on the CTBT Entry-Into-Force Conference, September

The third Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty Entry-Into-Force (EIF) Conference will be held in New York, September 21-23, 2005. While the official aide memoire on NGO participation has not yet been finalized, NGOs must take it upon themselves to start organizing now.

If we are to follow past practices, we can assume (yet this is only an assumption) that we will have the opportunity to present one statement on behalf of civil society. We must begin drafting this statement as soon as possible. You can read the statement from the 2003 Conference and the 2001 Conference on the Reaching Critical Will website.

If there is no opportunity to present this statement to the delegates, we must present it to the members of the media.

If you are interested in participating in this collective NGO statement, or, if you would like to participate in the discussions surrounding our media strategy for this all-important conference, contact Jennifer Nordstrom today.

Why is the EIF Conference Important?
The Entry-Into-Force Conferences are opportunities for:

* announcing ratifications and signatures;

* calling on those states that have not yet signed or ratified the CTBT to join the international consensus to end nuclear testing;

* urging states with active nuclear weapon research programmes and test sites to take actions that would reinforce the CTBT and support its goals, such as refraining from activities at test sites that might be construed as CTBT violations, halting research, development and production of nuclear warheads based on modifications of existing designs, that give them new military capabilities;

* examining ways and means of removing obstacles which delay Entry-Into-Force;

* discussing and agreeing on specific measures to convince the last holdout states to support the test ban;

* support for the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty Organisation in Vienna that has made significant progress in setting up the International Monitoring System and International Data Center, so that the CTBT's verification system is ready by the time the treaty enters into force;

* condemning any future testing; and,

* calling upon governments, businesses and peoples to take decisive action in reaction to any future testing.

What Else Can NGOs Do?

* contact Reaching Critical Will, who will be coordinating an NGO statement to be delivered to the CTBT States Parties at the Conference;

* make an appointment to speak with a representative at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs or equivalent and encourage the Foreign Minister to attend the conference to publicly urge the CTBT hold out states to promptly ratify the Treaty; to contact your government's mission, see RCW's Governmental Database;

* Register your group to attend; (details on registration will be forthcoming through the RCW General E-News service)

* monitor the CTBT EIF progress through the Reaching Critical Will website and react to what your government does or does not say

* publicize your views and your government's policies on the CTBT to the press in your country.

For more information on the CTBT:

The Preparatory Commission for the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty Organization
The Department for Disarmament Affairs
The Acronym Institute
Arms Control Association
The Coalition to Reduce Nuclear Dangers
International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War
Physicians for Social Responsibility
WILPF/Reaching Critical Will
VERTIC
Greenpeace International

4) Seven Nations Seek to Strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Regime
On July 26, the Foreign Ministers of Australia, Chile, Indonesia, Norway, Romania, South Africa and the United Kingdom issued a declaration that seeks to strengthen the international disarmament and non-proliferation regime. They also submitted to the General Assembly President suggested language for the Outcome Document of the Millennium+5 Summit to be held in New York, September 14-16.

The statement was initiated by the Foreign Minister of Norway, Mr. Jan Petersen, who, like his counterparts and the majority of the world's people, was gravely disappointed with the failure of the NPT Review Conference this past May.

While Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, viewed the political declaration as "deeply encouraging", many NGOs are troubled that the text fails to build upon past achievements, in particular those of the 2000 NPT Review Conference. It also reaffirms, in the very first paragraph, the "vital" nature of nuclear energy, despite the environmental, health and proliferation risks that it poses. NGOs are also doubting the credibility of a text that resolves to "pursue practical, systematic and progressive efforts to advance disarmament globally", when one of the text's signers- the United Kingdom- is contemplating replacing its nuclear arsenal.

The draft text submitted by the seven ministers does, however, reaffirm some of the goals of the 2000 NPT Review Conference- such as negotiations of a Fissile Material Treaty and the ratification and entry-into-force of the CTBT. It also includes elements that were not a part of the historic 2000 Final Document, such as calling upon the Conference on Disarmament to explore "effective measures for the prevention of an arms race in outer space" and welcoming "the report of the IAEA Director General's Expert Group on Multilateral Approaches to the Nuclear Fuel Cycle".

You can read the Seven Ministers' Political Declaration here: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/1com05/sevennation.html
Read their draft text for the Outcome Document of the Millennium+5 Summit: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/1com05/sevennationM5.html
Read the Op-Ed by the Seven Ministers: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/1com05/7nationoped.html
For all information regarding the M+5, see: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/1comindex1.html#M5

In order to follow the developments of the Millennium+5 Summit and the 60th session of the General Assembly, be sure to subscribe to the First Committee Monitor, the only weekly publication that follows disarmament and international security debates throughout the General Assembly season.

July 18

Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,

Even during the most seemingly predictable of nuclear disarmament meetings, interesting things do occur. From the Conference on Disarmament to the UN Disarmament Commission, the discussions taking place have been noteworthy as of late and, seeing as how we are encroaching upon the 60th anniversaries of the Hiroshima and Nagasaki nuclear bombings, and, with the miserable failure of the NPT Review Conference still fresh in our minds, it has become all the more imperative that we pay attention to these proceedings and their developments, and continue to urge our governments to work toward global nuclear disarmament.

As always, this and all other General E-News Advisories from Reaching Critical Will are archived on our website. We always welcome any feedback, comments, questions or concerns.

Best wishes,
Rhianna

1. RCW Fundraising update

Recently, we sent out an appeal to all of our subscribers who rely on Reaching Critical Will's monitoring, reporting and coordinating services to help us through our current financial dilemma.

Thanks to your support, we were able to raise $5,000. Some of you sent $30 gifts, others sent $500 or $1000 gifts. We are very grateful for all.

Those of you who have not yet sent in a contribution towards the support of our work, we ask you to consider making an investment in Reaching Critical Will. We count on your dollars to maintain our work, which will become all the more important as we head toward the 60th session of the General Assembly, the Millennium+5 Summit and the GA First Committee.

On behalf of the entire WILPF UN Office, I would like to once again thank all of you who have supported the Reaching Critical Will project financially. If you have any other questions or concerns, please do not hesitate to contact the WILPF UNO Director.

2. The UN Disarmament Commission Opens... Kind of

Today, on July 18, the United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC), the only universal body mandated to deliberate and make recommendations to the General Assembly on all disarmament matters, opened its 2005 substantive session. Well... kind of.

After months of organizational meetings and informal consultations, the Chair, Mr. Sylvester Rowe of Sierra Leone, had been unable to obtain consensus on an agenda, thus prompting everyone to believe that the 2005 session of the UNDC would be postponed.

However, after a lengthy discussion this morning that recapped what had transpired in the informal consultations, it appeared that consensus was much more easily within reach than previously believed, and the meeting of the Commission will continue tomorrow. However, agreement on the agenda is still not yet obtained, and, while these meetings were originally scheduled as part of the UNDC substantive session, it seems that delegates will use this time to continue the organizational and procedural work of the Commission.

The UNDC, created in 1978 by the first Special Session of the General Assembly on Disarmament (SSOD I), is a subsidiary organ of the General Assembly, composed of all Member States of the United Nations. It is a deliberative body with the mandate to consider and make recommendations on various problems in the field of disarmament and of following up on the relevant decisions and recommendations of the SSOD I.

(The UNDC, keep in mind, is different from the Conference on Disarmament, or CD, which has a mandate to negotiate disarmament treaties. The CD has only 66 members and is based in Geneva.)

Since 1993, the UNDC has, in practice, dealt only with two or three items on its agenda, each of which has usually been considered for three consecutive years. In 1998, by its decision 52/492, the General Assembly decided that the UNDC's agenda, as of 2000, would normally comprise two substantive items.

This year, the Chairman put forth a two-item agenda for the UNDC:

1. Recommendations for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in all its aspects, in particular for achieving the objective of nuclear disarmament.

2. Practical confidence-building measures (CBMs), including verification mechanisms, in the field of conventional weapons.

The US reportedly insisted on adding the words "and non-proliferation" after "nuclear disarmament" in the first recommendation. The Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) also immediately spat forth their own proposal, which would have mandated the UNDC to deliberate on "guidelines and strategies", rather than "recommendations" for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. After consulting with Washington, the US rejected the NAM proposal.

After a month-long debate over "guidelines", "recommendations" and/or "strategies", it was becoming increasingly clear to everybody that the 2005 UNDC session would be able to provide none of these to the General Assembly this fall.

Then today, the US announced that it was no longer insisting on the word "non-proliferation" at the end of the first recommendation, thus paving the way for true consensus on this one agenda item. Of course, it will have to confirm with Washington that the Chair's original proposal is acceptable, though the US delegate definitely implied this possibility.

While this development is indeed pleasantly shocking, there still remains the task of securing agreement on a second agenda item. The US already made it clear that it has reservations with the second agenda item, noting that a Group of Governmental Experts will be created in 2006 to deliberate and make recommendations on verification in all its aspects, as per the General Assembly resolution 59/60.

The US also made it very clear that they intend to push for a third item on the UNDC agenda: "Measures for improving the effectiveness of the methods of work of the UNDC," which would perhaps be a similar undertaking to that of the First Committee, whose review of its own methods of work has also been initiated by the United States, via two separate resolutions in 2003 and 2004, 58/41 and 59/95, respectively.

Should the UNDC reach agreement on its agenda, it is important to note that the substantive sessions of the Commission are closed to civil society. Therefore, the only input that we have in the deliberations is through our national representatives. Be sure to contact your governmental representatives to urge them to uphold the integrity of multilateralism and to do all they can to ensure that the UNDC makes substantive recommendations on ridding the world of nuclear weapons.

Contact also the UNDC Chairman, and let him know that civil society is paying attention to these proceedings:

Sylvester Rowe
245 East 49th Street
New York, NY 10017
Ph. (212) 688 1656
Fax. (212) 688 4924
Email: sierraleone@un.int

Should the UNDC remain unable to reach agreement on an agenda, the possibility of canceling the remainder of the 2005 UNDC session is not off the table, nor is it far from many delegates' minds. The UNDC is scheduled to convene through August 5. All updates on the UNDC will be available through RCW's General E-News service.

3. Conference on Disarmament ends second session of 2005: Substantive discussions prevail despite deadlock on agenda

On July 14, the Conference on Disarmament (CD) adjourned its second session of the year. While the CD has still not reached agreement on its program of work, they did manage to have some very interesting, focused and useful discussions on the main four issues facing the negotiating body: nuclear disarmament, fissile materials, prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS) and security assurances.

28 delegations spoke at the meeting focused on nuclear disarmament. (The United States, incidentally, did not participate, the only Nuclear Weapon State to refrain from doing so). Some countries used the opportunity to present newer ideas and proposals for moving the regime forward, including a reassessment of multilateral machinery. The Netherlands’ Ambassador Chris Sanders, suggested rethinking the mandates of the CD and the UNDC, and proposed instead that governments “settle for one single universal body… (such as) the (General Assembly) First Committee” which “seem(s) capable of negotiating treaties”. Sweden expressed hope that the reform of the United Nations, to be discussed at the September Millennium+5 (M+5) Summit, would be an opportunity to address the failure of existing machinery. Sweden, supported by Mexico, also proposed that the Conference take stock of what disarmament efforts had already been made or were on-going in other contexts. Ambassador Whelan of Ireland suggested that the Conference provide a forum where countries which have not ratified the NPT (Israel, India and Pakistan) could engage meaningfully in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation issues.

At the meeting focused on fissile materials, 20 delegations spoke, elaborating their positions on the most controversial aspects of a proposed Fissile Material Treaty (FMT), namely its scope (whether or not to include existing stocks in the production cap), verification mechanisms and the mandate for the negotiations. South Africa’s Ambassador Mtshali called the United States’ position on an FMCT verification as “a unilateral conclusion (which is) a major setback and stumbling block in resuming negotiations” and opposed their position “being used as a precondition for negotiations.” The United States, on t