CD informally discusses draft annual report
Mia Gandenberger | 2 September 2014
The Conference on Disarmament (CD) met on Tuesday, 2 September 2014, to informally discuss the draft of the annual report of the CD. Before the meeting was closed for members of civil society, statements were delivered by CD President, Ambassador Dato' Mazian Muhammad of Malaysia, Kazakhstan, Ambassador Anayasi Rodrígez Camejo of Cuba on behalf of the Group of 21, and India.
- CD President, Ambassador Dato' Mazian Muhammad of Malaysia, provided a brief update on his consultations. He does not intend to suggest a programme of work at this point and will focus on finalizing the draft annual report to the UN General Assembly.
- Ambassador Mukhtar Tileuberdi of Kazakhstan delivered a statement focused on nuclear testing and its consequences to mark the the International Day Against Nuclear Test on 29 August 2013. He also highlighted the signing of the Central Asian Nuclear Weapons Free Zone treaty protocols by the nuclear-armed states of the NPT.
- The Group of 21 delivered a statement recalling its position on nuclear disarmament. In this context, the Group highlighted, among other things, resolution 68/32, the report of the Open Ended Working Group, and underscored its concerns with the catastrophic humanitarian consequences of any nuclear weapon detonation and welcomed the conferences on the issue in Oslo, Nayarit, and Vienna.
The draft annual report
On 29 August 2014, the draft annual report was circulated to member states and civil society. The draft report is a factual account of what took place during the year. It includes a section on “improved and effective functioning of the Conference,” which references the statement by Acting Secretary-General Michael Møller on 20 May 2014, wherein he proposed several measures to address the CD’s deadlock.
The report also gives an account of the two decisions of the dual track approach, that is, the re-establishment of the Informal Working Group and the schedule of activities. With regard to the substantive work of the Conference, the report lists all documents submitted under each agenda item and refers to the respective coordinators under the schedule of activities.
As in last year’s report, under the section on communications from non-governmental organizations, the draft report notes that member states welcomed enhanced engagement of civil society and that delegations reaffirmed or further elaborated on their positions on interaction with civil society.
Next plenary
The next plenary meeting will be held on Tuesday, 9 September 2014 at 10:00 in the Council Chamber.