13 August 2004

Rhianna Tyson, Reaching Critical Will

This week at the Conference on Disarmament, Australia welcomed the statement by the US on 29 July. 

In that statement, Ambassador Sanders reaffirmed the US's commitment to negotiating an FMCT but expressed doubts as to that treaty's verifiability. Australia's Ambassador Smith advocated a "'focused approach' for FMCT verification" under which verification measures would apply only to highly enriched uranium (HEU) and separated plutonium produced after the treaty's entry-into-force, as well as to the facilities that produce such material. 

Australia also commented on the US's proposal to ban "persistent landmines"- a much more narrow ban than the already existing prohibition under the Ottawa Convention. Australia, as a State Party to the Ottawa Convention, expressed slight concern as to the "potential duplication" and risks to the Ottawa Convention's universality that the US proposal might present. 

Morocco's Ambassador Omar Hilale also delivered a statement as outgoing President of the CD. He discussed the informal plenaries- on transparency in armaments, new and additional issues related to the CD's agenda, and methodology of the programme of work- that took place under his presidency. While he maintained that it was premature to draw any conclusions from the meetings, he believed that it was the majority opinion that these informals were fruitful and allowed for a rich exchange of debate. 

In his concluding remarks, Ambassador Hilale also made a call for "pragmatism and realpolitik" in an effort to at long last "transcend... the lethargy... of the past eight years." The choice of all members "is between an idealistic vision of the Decalogue and a realistic and pragmatic perception of its implementation." (unofficial translation)

While Members do not usually comment on the President's remarks, Syria argued against Ambassador Hilale's appeal to realpolitik, a concept that they believe to be contradictory to the principles of the United Nations. A return to such a framework would undermine both the UN as well as the Conference on Disarmament.

The CD President rebuffed the remarks from Syria, and promptly reaffirmed his statement, arguing that the Conference will never fulfill its mandate in the absence of a "realistic stance." 

WILPF, as an international organization, believes that "realism" is no longer equated with realpolitik, a concept predicated on narrow national self-interest. Those who believe in international security- including the founders of the United Nations- are steadfastly realistic as they strive for a world based on human security for all, regardless of national borders within which they reside. 

For a recent WILPF outlook on the benefits of a human security approach to disarmament, see Reaching Critical Will's presentation, "A New Security: Using gender to enable a human security framework in issues of disarmament," delivered at the Second United Nations Department for Disarmament Affairs conference, "Mounting Challenges to Peace and Security and Disarmament Today," in Sapporo, Japan on 29 July, 2004.

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