6 March 2007

The March 6 Conference on Disarmament (CD) plenary meeting heard the annual International Women's Day statement from women's Non-Governmental Organizations and debated how to schedule the CD's important Second Session. In addition to discussing a Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty and the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space, which are being discussed in informals this week, governments also discussed nuclear disarmament. Pakistan on behalf of the Group of 21, Norway, Ukraine, Cuba, Colombia,Switzerland, Peru, Syria, Algeria, China and the United Kingdom made statements. 

NGO statement to the CD on International Women's Day
Women's Non-Governmental Organizations had their opinions about nuclear disarmament heard in the CD, commemorating International Women's Day. However, despite years of broad cross-regional governmental support for the women reading their own statement, and over 20 years of NGO interaction with the CD, the CD President still read the statement on behalf of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom while the women looked down from the gallery. Although Spain and the 2007 CD Presidents could have allowed the NGOs to read their own statement to the CD this year, Spain instead handed the controversial issue off to next year's Presidents, suggesting that next year's 25th anniversary of NGO engagement with the Conference could compel the CD to invite NGOs to read their own statement. The Group of 21, Norway, Switzerland, Peru, Algeria and Syria expressed support for civil society's direct engagement with the CD. The Group of 21, Norway, Algeria and Syria affirmed that NGOs should deliver their own statement, and Norway suggested de-linking the statement from International Women's Day to normalize interactions. Switzerland noted NGO's "useful contributions to the CD." The NGO statement noted that "while governments remain the ultimate decision-makers, it is NGOs that allow citizens across the globe to partake in the political process and make their voices heard. The role of women's organisations, in particular, has been recognized as a building block to sustainable security- especially in UN Security Council Resolution 1325 (2000)."

Moving toward a productive Second Session
As the CD approaches the end of the First Session, the Presidents and Coordinators are consulting with member states and preparing to organize the Second Session, which is currently open. The governments understand that the Second Session holds the opportunity for real in-depth work on priority issues, so they are particularly concerned about how the session will be organized. Spain announced that the Presidents are developing a 'questionnaire' in order to hold the consultations, and a couple of governments requested that this be circulated in advance so they could consult with capitals and prepare. Although Spain tried to allay concerns by explaining that this was just an internal process to ensure all the consultations were addressing the same issues, some states were still skittish. Canada relieved the tension by making a joke comparing these concerns to students worrying about the questions on a quiz, but these sorts of suspicions belie the continuing need to build confidence in the CD. Governments must generate trust in order to begin negotiations. The NGOs suggested that governments use the CD to build confidence by submitting substantive reports detailing "measurable steps taken to implement their disarmament obligations." They also advised the governments to prepare the legal and technical framework for the moment negotiations are ready to begin, and suggested that governments might agree on more than they think they do. 

Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty (FMCT)
Ukraine and Colombia both made statements mainly on a Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty (FMCT), reiterating importance of beginning negotiations. The Ukraine saw the FMCT as a building block towards other issues, and supported the US draft treaty text as a "good basis for negotiations". Columbia said an FMCT should address stocks, include effective verification measures, and be negotiated without preconditions or linkages to other negotiations (ie any of the other core issues). Thus, although Colombia supports effective verification in an FMCT, it does not believe effective verification should be a "precondition" of negotiations. Peru also noted its willingness to begin negotiating an FMCT without preconditions. The NGOs noted the International Panel on Fissile Materials' suggestions for moving these discussions into negotiations, including that nuclear weapon states should declare their total fissile-material stockpiles. 

Nuclear Disarmament and the Non-Proliferation Treaty
Cuba, Peru and Switzerland discussed nuclear disarmament and the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Cuba considered "that the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is illegal in any circumstances whatsoever." The NGOs agreed, and suggested states unilaterally follow up on Security Council Resolution 1540, which calls on all states to criminalize WMD activities by non-state actors, by adopting national laws prohibiting all forms of nuclear weapons activities, including by state actors. Cuba also called for a universal, unconditional and legally-binding instrument on security assurance to non-nuclear weapon states, while NGOs asked CD members to re-evaluate their nuclear-sharing agreements. Peru emphasized the urgency of nuclear disarmament by noting that the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists'Doomsday Clock, which has only been moved closer to midnight 4 times in 15 years, was recently moved two minutes closer to the metaphorical end of civilization. Switzerland said certain nuclear weapon states' decisions to develop or replace their nuclear weapons ran counter to the spirit of Article VI of the NPT (requiring nuclear disarmament), because it reduced the likelihood of nuclear disarmament, and in fact increased the importance of nuclear weapons.

Space Security
Switzerland was the only state to discuss space security in the plenary. Switzerland emphasized the utility of confidence-building measures in space, including a code of conduct for space activities and provisions to prevent space debris and noted that this will be taken up during the 2007 UN General Assembly. It said a code of conduct could include measures to regulate space traffic, and prevent or prohibit dangerous actions or actions of those with questionable objectives. Switzerland also recommended greater interaction between the CD and the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. 

High-level Schedule
Spain announced that 11 high-level delegations will address the CD next week. See the following schedule:
March 12 at 3 pm: Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ecuador
March 13 at 10 am: Vice-President of Colombia
    Representative of Mine Action of Australia
    Minister of Foreign Affairs of Latvia
    Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan
    Minister of Foreign Affairs of Poland
    Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran
    Political representative of Viet Nam
March 14 at 3 pm: Minister of Foreign Affairs of Nigeria
    Vice-Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea
March 16 at noon: Minister of Foreign Affairs of Spain

The next plenary meeting will be held on March 12 at 3pm.