22 May 2006

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) closed its debate on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) on Monday, May 22. The Russian Federation, Peru, Colombia, Canada, the EU, China, Japan, Switzerland and Morocco made statements as well as outgoing President, Ambassador Costea of Romania. Most states talked about the week of FMCT discussions and agreed the talks had helped clarify positions and produced a clearer picture of issues related to a treaty. Delegations showed appreciation for the May 18 US draft negotiating mandate and treaty and hoped it would bring the conference back to work.

As the week of focused discussions comes to a close, it is time to reflect on the CD's success at working on the subject many delegations have called the most “ripe” for negotiations, as well as its prospects for beginning negotiations any time soon. Canada said the week went “as well as we could have hoped” and provided a “glimmer of hope” for the CD. Japan called the week an “outstanding success”, using the number of participating experts and introduced working papers as measuring sticks of that success. Romania told the Conference 48 experts from 18 states participated in the discussions, and 9 working papers were introduced as CD documents, evidencing “a return to the normal mixture of political and technical components the CD needs”. Romania also said the frequency of meetings and the structure and nature of debates should only be seen as the normal rhythm for a body like the CD.

Peru and Colombia commented on the specifics of the draft treaty and negotiating mandate. Peru explained, “While we appreciate the document submitted by the US, any international instrument must of necessity, have a verification instrument.” With regard to existing stocks, Colombia asked why we need existing fissile materials if the goal is to eliminate nuclear weapons completely. Peru agreed existing stocks could be negotiated in an ad hoc committee, but emphasized that “we cannot set aside tremendous quantities of materials that could be used to update existing weapons or build new ones.”

The CD now has a draft negotiating mandate and a draft text for a treaty on fissile materials, and needs to figure out how to begin work. The CD must agree by consensus on a program of work to establish the Ad Hoc Committees that negotiate treaties, and has been unable to do so for nearly ten years. Many delegations have expressed hope that the week's discussions and the draft negotiating mandate and treaty will bring the Conference closer to agreement.

Japan said US Assistant Secretary Rademaker is open to discussions on the other traditional CD issues (the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space, Negative Security Assurances and nuclear disarmament) while negotiations are taking place on an FMCT. Switzerland said “the US and other delegations have shown determination to continue discussion on traditional and new subjects”. If the US is willing to engage in discussions on the other three subjects and other states are willing to begin negotiations on an FMCT, it sounds suspiciously like a compromise program of work that would enable negotiations to begin.

China said it hoped the week's debate would contribute to an early adoption of a program of work, and Russia said it is certain that the week's results will improve the problems blocking compromise and foster progress on compromise on a program of work.

The EU called for the immediate commencement of negotiations, and in its statement delivered by Austria, “encourage[d] the Presidency of the CD to consider quickly and actively how to continue our deliberations on this issue during the reminder of the 2006 session.” Switzerland said the draft negotiating mandate could be accepted immediately and suggested creativity in the path forward.

The Director General of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) responded to the Conference's invitation to participate in its FMCT discussions in a letter President Costea shared with the Conference. The IAEA would be pleased to send a representative of the agency to discuss these issues during the 3rd part of the 2006 session, which will bring the FMCT discussions back during the 2006 CD session.

Russia and China both made statements about the upcoming focus on Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS). They presented a new working paper about transparency and confidence building measures in outer space activities, and also submitted three earlier working papers as official documents, concerning existing international legal instruments, verification aspects and definition issues regarding legal instruments. The CD is scheduled to discuss PAROS from June 8 to June 15. If the CD begins negotiating an FMCT this year, it will do so while discussions on the other core issues are taking place, similar to several compromise program of work proposals.

The next plenary meeting is scheduled for 10 am on Thursday 1 June.

-Jennifer Nordstrom, Reaching Critical Will
Beatrice Fihn, Disarmament Intern
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom