30 March 2006
The 30 March Conference on Disarmament's public gallery - ordinarily seating only a handful of committed NGOs - was filled to the brim with reporters, cameras, camcorders and microphones. In the spotlight was Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran, Mr. Manouchehr Mottaki. Pakistan, Austria on behalf of the European Union, Italy and Romania also delivered statements.
In addition to CD issues, Minister Mottaki discussed yesterday's Presidential Statement of the Security Council. He called the decision to involve the Security Council in the Iranian case "yet another indication of the political maneuvering by some Western countries", undermining the authority of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). The IAEA has sufficient tools to handle the job, but unilateralist states, themselves possessing a "capacity [that] goes far beyond eradicating all human civilizations" are too "intolerant [.] to let the agency to function smoothly," he said.
The Security Council statement, held Minister Mottaki, "is nothing short of injustice, double standards and power politics". As an alternative solution, he suggested the establishment of a regional consortium on fuel cycle development placed under IAEA safeguards with the participation of countries that already have a fuel cycle. Such a regional initiative would involve Israel, and could - if utilized optimally - promote the Middle East peace process.
The Iranian Minister regretted that the CD still lacks consensus on a programme of work. Ambassador Mashood Khan of Pakistan supported the four ad hoc committees approach to a programme of work: "Linkages are the staple of multilateral diplomacy. We should know how to handle them."
Austria, Iran, Italy and Pakistan all addressed aspects of a treaty on fissile materials. Ambassador Carlo Trezza of Italy recalled that no delegation has expressed disagreement on starting negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off
Treaty (FMCT). A statement by the European Union, delivered by Austria, called for the immediate commencement of FMCT negotiations without preconditions but bearing in mind the Shannon Mandate, as well as for a moratorium on fissile materials production pending the entry into force of such a treaty. Both Italy's and the European Union's statements favored the participation of the IAEA in the Conference's FMCT discussions in congruence with paragraph 41 of the Rules of Precedure.
Pakistan and Iran both addressed the issue of existing stocks of fissile materials in relation to a fissile material treaty. Iran had "serious doubts on how a treaty on fissile material could serve the nuclear disarmament cause
without covering the vast stocks that could easily be used for development of new and new types of nuclear weapons." Pakistan was concerned that a fissile materials treaty which does not address existing stocks could freeze or accentuate existing asymmetries, with deleterious effects on nonproliferation. Ambassador Yoshiki Mine of Japan announced that his delegation will arrange an informal open-ended meeting on FMCT before the Eastern break, to review the history of fissile material debates in the CD and to share views on the meaning of an FMCT for nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
The first session of the 2006 CD came to a close with today's plenary, as did John Freeman's duties as Ambassador of the Mission of the United Kingdom. The Women's International League for Peace and Freedom joins CD President Doru Costea of Romania in his wishes for future success and happiness for the outgoing Ambassador.
The Conference will resume 16 May, continuing its focused debates on Agenda Items 1 and 2 with focus on an FMCT with three days of structured debate during the first week. The President stated that "a little bit of openness and mutual confidence" has been brought forward during the first ten weeks of this year and encouraged , and we can only hope for this progress to continue throughout 2006.
Alex Sundberg
Disarmament Intern
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom