What to expect from the CD

Anina Dalbert | Reaching Critical Will of WILPF

28 May 2013

The Conference on Disarmament (CD) met on Tuesday 28 May under the Presidency of Ambassador Mohsen Naziri Asl of Iran. Statements were delivered by the CD President, followed by Cuba, Syria, Pakistan, Russian Federation, China, Algeria, Egypt, Indonesia and Zimbabwe.

Incoming CD President

The incoming CD president, Ambassador Mohsen Naziri Asl of Iran stated that while the President may have the authority to take initiatives, there is a collective responsibility of all member states to start substantive discussions. He described the previous discussions on all agenda items as very useful for states to give an update on positions, but also asked delegations to elaborate on what member states expected from his Presidency and the CD in general. He also noted that he was interested in discussing other issues, such as enlarging the membership of the CD and civil society participation. Ambassador Naziri Asl reminded delegations that “simplistic approaches” to the deadlock such as blaming rules of procedures will not be helpful and that he will be exploring all possibilities for introducing a new draft programme of work.

Priorities in the CD

The representatives of Cuba, Syria, Pakistan and Egypt highlighted nuclear disarmament as a top priority for their delegations. The representative of Syria argued that no one issue is more ripe for negotiations than others.

The Cuban representative raised concerns that some states seem to think that they can find an alternative solution to the CD stalemate outside this body. He further emphasized that it is the responsibility of every member state to strengthen and optimize the work of the CD. Also Iran, Syria, Russia, China, and Indonesia reiterated the importance of the CD as the “sole multilateral” body in this field. Mr. Khelif from Algeria noted, on the other hand, that if the CD is to remain the only multilateral disarmament body, the CD must make progress on substance.

The representative of Zimbabwe strongly regretted that there is still no agreement within the CD to commence work, and raised concerns that nothing but lip service will be paid to addressing this issue. The Egyptian delegation stated it was ready to welcome any proposals that could start negotiations.

Russia and Algeria repeated their support for a simplified programme of work that would only address the four “core” issues of the CD agenda, while still taking the different priorities and security concerns of delegations into account.

Next plenary meeting

The next plenary meeting will be held on Tuesday, 4 June at 10:00 in the Council Chamber.