A new multilateral order in an old Cold War fora?

Beatrice Fihn | Reaching Critical Will of WILPF

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) met on Tuesday, 15 June, where the Minister of External Relations of Brazil, Mr. Celso Amorim, delivered a statement on the occasion of the start of the Brazilian presidency of the CD. The delegations of Colombia on behalf of theLatin American Members and Observers of the CD, Iraq, Iran, Chile, Egypt, and Mexico also addressed the meeting.

Brief highlights

The Brazilian Minister of External Affairs pointed out that nuclear weapons have no role in the peaceful, democratic, and prosperous world we all want to build and that the Cold War logic of the ability of mutual destruction must be left behind.

Mr. Amorim also highlighted the nuclear cooperation deal signed between Turkey, Brazil, and Iran, arguing that despite the fact that the deal was based on proposals from the Vienna Group and acknowledged by many as worth pursuing, it has still not been given a chance to bear fruit.

The CD welcomed three new ambassadors from Chile, Iraq, and Iran.

The incoming CD President, Ambassador Soares of Brazil, noted that he would continue to work for the adoption of a programme of work in plenary meetings of the CD and announced that he would continue consultations with all delegations on this matter.

A new kind of multilateralism for nuclear disarmament 
The Brazilian Minister of External Affairs, Mr. Celso Amorim, argued that the recent economic crisis has lead to an emerging consensus that international relations must be carried out through democratic decisions, with the participation of a broad and representative group of people. He suggested that the CD could spearhead a profound change by allowing for effective participation of developing countries and non-nuclear weapon states in matters like nuclear disarmament, pointing out that global governance is being rebuilt and that the world cannot be run by clubs of self-appointed decision-makers. Mr. Amorim also noted that the unfortunate identification of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council with the five nuclear weapon states recognized by the NPT renders decisions on such matters the object of a kind of “market reserve”.

Both Mr. Amorim and the new ambassador of Iran, Mr. Seyed Sajjadi, pointed out that the Cold War is over and that a change of mentality regarding nuclear weapons must take place. Ambassador Sajjadi argued that the international community cannot wait forever to witness the total elimination of nuclear weapons and Mr. Amorim argued that the world cannot achieve sustained security as long as proliferation is spurred by protracted action on nuclear disarmament and by continued modernization of nuclear arsenals. While welcoming promises of quantitative reductions in arsenals by nuclear weapon states, Mr. Amorim said he did not consider such steps to be enough and argued that cuts are being offset by qualitative improvement in nuclear forces, by the modernization of nuclear weapons and their delivery systems and by the roles ascribed for nuclear weapons in defence doctrines. Furthermore, Ambassador Sajjadi argued that modernization and deterrence policies in the field of nuclear weapons are of more concern than ever for the international community. He stated that Iran would resolutely follow the cause of nuclear disarmament particularly in the framework of the CD and requested that a programme of work enable the CD to commence negotiations on nuclear disarmament.

The Tehran Declaration
A week after the new round of sanctions against Iran were adopted by the UN Security Council, the Brazilian Minister of External Relations took the opportunity to comment on the Tehran Declaration and the reasons that inspired “two developing countries, non-permanent members of the Security Council, to dare deal with an issue of such relevance in the realm of international peace.” Mr. Amorim argued that his country, together with Turkey, aimed to find a formula that would ensure Iran’s right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy while providing assurances that its nuclear programme was for peaceful uses only. He noted that the deal was based on a proposal originally put forward by the Vienna Group, “taking into account the parameters that were repeatedly indicated to use as key to a confidence-building agreement.” Mr. Amorim stated that it was difficult for him to understand why this deal has not been given a chance to bear fruit and noted that whatever effects the new sanctions will have, “when the parties decide to go back to the negotiating table, they will face an even steeper challenge.” The Iranian ambassador did not comment on the new sanctions or the Tehran Declaration.

The work ahead of the CD
The incoming CD president, Ambassador Soares of Brazil, argued that the next step for the CD is still to adopt its programme of work for 2010. He explained that while proceeding with the schedule of informal meetings on all agenda items, he intended for the CD to address the matter of programme of work in plenary meetings and noted that he would carry out consultations with all delegations. Both the Egyptian and Mexican delegation took the floor to show support for the new CD president and ensured their support for his approach. Delegates of Iran, Iraq, Chile, and the Latin American member states and observers of the CD all noted the importance of the CD to resume its work. Iran’s ambassador called for negotiations to commence on all agenda items and Iraq’s delegation stated that they wished to see progress on all four core issues. Ambassador Oyarce of Chile also argued that civil society today has an integral part in the way modern multilateral fora works and said that the CD could not ignore this and should increase cooperation with civil society.

The Latin American member states and observers of the CD stated that they support any testing of mechanisms and alternatives for reaching consensus of a programme of work that would lead to conclusions of new instruments of disarmament and non-proliferation.

Notes from the gallery
As the informal discussions on all agenda items are going on in closed meetings, the members of the CD have an opportunity to continue exploring options and alternatives for adopting a programme of work in the plenary meetings. Open and transparent discussions on concrete proposals have been shown to be a more efficient approach to progress than holding meetings behind closed doors. While the informal meetings on issues like a fissile materials (cut-off) treaty are reportedly useful, not being able to draw any conclusions or carry out any reporting will hinder any discussions to formally move forward. Meanwhile, the prospect for achieving a programme of work has not seemed to have improved at this time. While the FM(C)T has been argued to be ripe for negotiations for a long time, it might be time to consider if the continued drive for such negotiations is worth the price the CD is paying right now. If an FM(C)T does not include existing stocks, and simply formalizes current moratoria on production, will its benefits be enough to justify the long stalemate and wasted resources in this body? If the CD is to “spearhead a profound change” as the Brazilian minister suggested, it will need to seriously consider not just its methods of work and agenda items but also its role and concept in building the new system of global governance described by Mr. Amorim.

Next plenary meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, 22 June at 10.00.