Summary Record of the 15th Meeting

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Conference on Disarmament

General Assembly First Committee

UN Disarmament Commission

Special Session on Disarmament

Summary record of the 15th meeting
Held at Headquarters, New York, on Friday, 12 May 2000, at 3 p.m.

President: Mr. Baali (Algeria)

Contents

Organization of work

The meeting was called to order at 4 p.m.

Reports of the Main Committees (NPT/CONF.2000/MC.I/1, NPT/CONF.2000/MC.II/WP.17, NPT/CONF.2000/MC.III/1)

1. The President invited the Chairman of Main Committee I to present his report.

2. Mr. Reyes Rodr?uez (Colombia), Chairman of Main Committee I, said that the report (NPT/CONF.2000/MC.I/1) had been adopted by the Committee at its seventh meeting, on 11 May 2000. The Committee had also taken note of the working paper of the Chairman and agreed to forward it to the Conference for further consideration. Main Committee I had had before it, in addition, a working paper submitted by the Chairman of Subsidiary Body 1 and it had agreed that the working paper provided a framework for further work at the Conference.

3. The President said he took it that the Conference wished to take note of the report of Main Committee I.

4. It was so decided.

5. The President invited the Chairman of Main Committee II to introduce his report.

6. Mr. Kobieracki (Poland), Chairman of Main Committee II, said that an advance copy of the report in English had been made available to delegations as document NPT/CONF.2000/MC.II/WP.17. The report had been adopted by the Committee at its seventh meeting on 12 May 2000. The Committee had also taken note of the working paper of the Chairman. Despite all the Committee's work, some elements of its report remained contested. The formulations on which the Committee had agreed for the Final Document of the Conference were contained in paragraph 7. The text indicated in bold would require further work since it had not enjoyed consensus at the time of the adoption of the report. Main Committee II had had before it, in addition, the report of the Chairman of Subsidiary Body 2. While consensus had not been reached on some elements of that document either, the Committee had agreed that it provided a good framework for further work at the Conference.

7. The President said he took it that the Conference wished to take note of the report of Main Committee II.

8. It was so decided.

9. The President invited the Chairman of Main Committee III to introduce his report.

10. Mr. Reimaa (Finland), Chairman of Main Committee III, said that an advance copy of the report in English had been made available to delegations in document NPT/CONF.2000/MC.III/1. The Committee had worked intensively and constructively in order to arrive at generally acceptable formulations for the Final Declaration on article IV regarding peaceful uses of nuclear energy, article V on peaceful nuclear explosions and article IX concerning wider adherence to the Treaty. Consensus had been reached on all but eight paragraphs, the role of nuclear power in achieving sustainable development, transport of radioactive materials by sea, nuclear liability, funding of the technical cooperation programme of the International Atomic Energy Agency and conversion of nuclear materials to peaceful uses. He was confident that, given the opportunity for further consultations, the Committee would be able to reach agreement on those issues.

11. The President said that he took it that the Conference wished to take note of the report of Main Committee III.

12. It was so decided.

Organization of work

13. The President, noting that Main Committees I and II had agreed that the working paper and the report of the Chairmen of Subsidiary Bodies 1 and 2 respectively provided a good framework for further work at the Conference, said that he would ask them to continue with their consultations with a view to achieving a consensus on those areas that required further efforts and to report to him in that regard by the morning of Tuesday, 16 May.

14. Referring to the work of the Main Committees on agenda item 16 "Review of the operation of the Treaty as provided for in its article VIII, paragraph 3, taking into account the decisions and the resolution adopted by the 1995 NPT Review and Extension Conference" and agenda item 17 "Role of the Treaty in the promotion of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and of nuclear disarmament in strengthening international peace and security and measures aimed at strengthening the implementation of the Treaty and achieving its universality", he suggested that the reports of Main Committees II and III should be forwarded to the Drafting Committee for the purpose of finalizing the formulations for the Final Document of the Conference.

15. It was so decided.

16. The President urged delegations as the Conference entered its final week to move forward from discussion of well-known positions and to focus on developing a convergence of views on the outstanding issues. It was his intention, once having been informed of the outcome of the consultations undertaken by the Chairmen of Subsidiary Bodies 1 and 2, to convene a small but representative informal consultation group, which would seek to further narrow the differences between delegations with a view to reaching a consensus, including on the forward-looking section of the outcome of the Conference and on the issues identified by Main Committee I. He would also continue his consultations on strengthening the review process for the Treaty with a view to finalizing a paper on that question.

17. Mr. de Icaza (Mexico), speaking on behalf of the States of the New Agenda Coalition, said that it was crucial that the consultations should proceed with the utmost transparency.

18. Mr. Zahran (Egypt) asked whether the informal consultation group would be open to all delegations.

19. The President said that he intended to work with a small but representative group of delegations.

20. Mr. de Icaza (Mexico), speaking on behalf of the States of the New Agenda Coalition, said that the informal consultation group should be open to any delegation that wished to take part, since it was far from clear what would constitute a representative group of delegations.

21. The President said that that would not be possible for practical reasons. However, he would ensure that the consultations were as transparent as possible and that all regions and groups of States were represented, including the New Agenda Coalition. In addition, he would meet regularly with the Bureau and keep it informed of the progress made.

22. Mr. de Icaza (Mexico) said that the States of the New Agenda Coalition wished to participate, rather than be represented, in informal consultations.

23. Mr. Monteiro (Portugal), speaking on behalf of the European Union, pledged his support for the President's efforts to reach a consensus on the outstanding issues and expressed his readiness to work to that end in whatever manner the President deemed appropriate.

24. The President said that he took it that the Conference wished to proceed as he had suggested.

25. It was so decided.

The meeting rose at 4.25 p.m.