President introduces draft report; First Committee chair outlines objectives

Ambassador José Luis Cancela of Uruguay, the chairperson elect of the UNGA First Committee on Disarmament and International Security for 2009, addressed the Conference on Disarmament (CD) on Thursday morning. The new permanent representative of Bulgaria to the UN in Geneva, Ambassador Gancho Ganev, also addressed the Conference. Ambassador Danon of France and the current CD president, Ambassador Strohal of Austria, bid farewell to the deputy representative of the United Kingdom, Fiona Patterson. Ambassador Strohal also introduced the draft report of the Conference.

Draft report
Ambassador Strohal of Austria, the current CD president, announced that the first draft of the Conference’s report to the General Assembly was circulated yesterday. The draft explains the CD’s work throughout the session. It notes that consensus was not reached on any of the proposals on the modalities for the implementation of the programme of work but does not offer any details in this regard. The report lists all documents related to discussion on the modalities and on each of the CD’s agenda items.

First Committee chair
Ambassador Cancela explained that during his time in Geneva, he has met with delegations of the Western Group, Eastern European Group, European Union, Non-Aligned Movement, and the Group of 21 and held some bilateral meetings with “interesting delegations”.

He announced that during the First Committee, he intends to “move forward towards the following objectives”

1.For the First Committee to contribute to maintaining the positive climate that has been noted in last few months, and which provides a real forum for new understandings, basically bearing in mind the important Review Conference of the treaty for the non proliferation of nuclear weapons to be carried out in 2010 in New York.

2.To increase the number of resolutions adopted by consensus as evidence that these tendencies towards the strengthening of multilateralism can be actually reflected in the resolutions of the First Committee. Despite this I nevertheless do recognize the important differences that exist on issues such as nuclear disarmament, non proliferation and arms control.

3.The objective of the consultations I held with those delegations accredited to Geneva was precisely that of seeking points of convergence which will enable us to achieve the necessary consensus and more than necessary, absolutely essential. 

4.Lastly, to raise, through the bureau of investigations, all the suggestions, recommendation and concerns I have heard during my consultations, in order to identify possible solutions.

Work of the CD
Ambassador Ganev of Bulgaria explained that while preparing for his new post, he paid close attention to the proceedings of the CD. He said it is the Bulgarian delegation’s belief that “successful disarmament instruments can only be based on consensus” that “it is in the interest of all countries to overcome their differences and engage in this endeavor.” Bulgaria will be one of the CD presidents in 2010.

NGO engagement
The CD president, Ambassador Strohal of Austria, announced that the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom requested an opportunity to address the Conference, in accordance with the decision of 2004. The decision in this document states that after the CD adopts a programme of work, it will allocate an informal meeting per annual session to NGOs to address the Conference. Ambassador Strohal indicated that he has consulted with regional coordinators and has made a list of the NGOs who are accredited to the Conference available to them. He proposed that the regional coordinators come back to the Conference with a final agreement “in time so that we can agree to hold such an informal meeting immediately after adjourning the formal plenary next Tuesday.”

Other news
Ambassador Danon of France bid a fond farewell to Fiona Patterson of the UK delegation, expressing his appreciation for her work.Ambassador Strohal likewise thanked her for her work, “her strong and always sound and good advice, always delivered with a smile and with a very helpful predisposition.”

Next meeting
The next plenary meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 8 September 2009. An NGO may be allowed to address the Conference in an informal meeting that day.

Notes from the gallery
WILPF would like to also extend its gratitude and thanks to Ms. Fiona Patterson. Since her arrival in Geneva. before the 2005 NPT Review Conference, she has consistently and openly engaged in a broad range of discussions with members of civil society. Ms. Patterson’s activities to raise the profile of Geneva as a City of Peace and the home of disarmament will not be forgotten. In particular, WILPF would like to thank Ms. Patterson for her encouragement of our efforts to raise awareness of threat perceptions in the Middle East during our 2009 International Women’s Day Disarmament Seminar. We wish her the best of luck in her future work, and look forward to continuing the same level of engagement and constructive dialogue with her replacement, Ms. Joanne Adamson. WILPF would also like to recognize the long and dedicated service of Mr. Jerzy Zaleski, who we understanding will soon be retiring. His wealth of institutional knowledge and ability to meet all challenges in the CD with a smile will be sorely missed.

Ray Acheson, Reaching Critical Will of WILPF