CD Press Release 26 August

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Conference on Disarmament

General Assembly First Committee

UN Disarmament Commission

Special Session on Disarmament

CHINA AND RUSSIA PRESENT NEW CONTRIBUTIONS TO CONFERENCE ON BANNING WEAPONS IN OUTER SPACE
Canada, France, Sweden and Sri Lanka Support Re-Establishing an Ad Hoc Committee on Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space

China and the Russian Federation today presented new contributions to the Conference on Disarmament on their proposal concerning the elaboration of a legal instrument in the Conference to ban weapons in outer space, prompting immediate reaction from Canada, France, Sweden, Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom.

The Russian Federation recalled that filling the gaps in existing international outer space law had been the purpose of the proposal by Russia and China, co-sponsored by a group of other States, which aimed to prohibit space-based weapons and the use of force against outer space objects. The two countries were today distributing two non-papers on the verification of implementation of the future instrument, and on a review of existing international law related to weaponization of outer space.

Russia hoped an Ad Hoc Committee on the prevention of an arms race in outer space would be re-established within the framework of an agreed programme of work of the Conference, and it was ready to support consensus on the programme of work based on the Five Ambassadors proposal. As a practical first step in this direction, Russia proposed to declare a moratorium on placement of weapons in outer space, pending conclusion of an appropriate agreement by the international community.

China said the priority concern was to further consolidate the international consensus on the prevention of the weaponization of and an arms race in outer space in the form of a legal commitment or a legal instrument. In June 2002, seven delegations including China and the Russian Federation, had tabled a working paper entitled “possible elements for a future international legal agreement on the prevention of the deployment of weapons in outer space, the threat or use of force against outer space objects”. In order to advance the work of the Conference on the prevention of an arms race in outer space, China and the Russian Federation had jointly prepared two non-papers.

Concerning the programme of work of the Conference, China said it had demonstrated considerable flexibility by agreeing to the proposed formulation of the mandate of the Ad Hoc Committee on prevention of an arms race in outer space although its mandate was far too weak. However, it at least struck a delicate and acceptable balance between various issues. China hoped that other relevant sides would also show the necessary political will and flexibility by accepting the Five Ambassadors proposal to enable the Conference to step out of its stalemate and to begin substantive work.

Canada said any treaty seeking to prohibit or limit space weapons would require a definition of “space weapon” in order to be precise about what the treaty would govern. Canada also believed that verification provisions must be included in any space weapons ban as a necessary element of any eventual treaty. It expressed support for re-establishing the Ad Hoc Committee on the prevention of an arms race in outer space.

France said it had always supported an Ad Hoc Committee on the prevention of an arms race in outer space. Unfortunately, for the past two years, this issue had been linked within the Conference to other subjects of a different nature. This situation was artificial. France remained convinced that the prevention of an arms race in outer space, like other issues, should be considered independently, with no artificial linkages.

Sweden said it supported the establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee in the Conference to deal with outer space. It suggested, as a first step, that informal technical meetings involving a wider range of actors in the space field from international organizations, space agencies, space law and the private sector, be held. Since space activities often were of a dual-use nature and involved cross-cutting issues between civil and military activities, future work would benefit from an over all perspective.

Sri Lanka noted that the majority of delegations had expressed support for the re-establishment of an Ad Hoc Committee on the prevention of an arms race in outer space in the Conference during the open-ended informal consultations and informal plenaries. Today two-non-papers had been presented which was a positive contribution towards efforts to elaborate an agreed mandate for the re-established Ad Hoc Committee, which would take into account the urgent need to address this issue in the Conference.

And the United Kingdom agreed that it was better not to link progress on different issues in the Conference, and that issues should be kept separate. Also it was not possible to separate what was happening in outer space from what was happening on earth. What might be creating the situation was the proliferation of ballistic missiles and nuclear weapons, so it was on the ground that the world needed to start to address the problem. A Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT) would be one such step and it was the next step that the Conference should and could take.

Ambassador U Mya Than of Myanmar, the President of the Conference, said it was with shock and sadness that the Conference had learned about two almost simultaneous airplane crashes yesterday in the Russian Federation which had killed many people. On behalf of the Conference, he extended his deepest condolences to the Government of the Russian Federation and the families of the victims. Ambassador Leonid Skotnikov of the Russian Federation said he was grateful for the condolences of the Conference on these tragic events and said he would convey these words of sympathy to the Government, which would then convey them to the families of the victims.