CD Press Release 2 September

CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT HEARS STATEMENTS FROM ARGENTINA, ISRAEL, MALAYSIA AND KAZAKHSTAN

The Conference on Disarmament today heard a statement from Argentina concerning the prevention of an arms race in outer space and a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty, an opening statement from Israel, and farewell statements from Malaysia and Kazakhstan.

Marcelo Valle Fonrouge of Argentina said the establishment of a subsidiary body on the prevention of an arms race in outer space in the Conference would be very helpful for the development of confidence-building measures which were of importance as a preliminary step to ensure stability and security in outer space. Argentina was also convinced that the next negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament should address a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty. The Conference needed to step up its efforts to find an end to the impasse it faced so that it could commence its role as a multilateral negotiating body.

Ambassador Itzhak Levanon of Israel said that he was pleased to be sitting in this hall for his first plenary meeting. He looked forward to actively participating in the work of the Conference on Disarmament. He also intended to remain unreservedly available to work in close cooperation with the President and with all his distinguished colleagues, and to start working on relevant matters as soon as possible.

Ambassador Rajmah Hussain of Malaysia said the much elusive political will by some key States to make progress within the Conference was still not forthcoming. She hoped that the time would come, sooner rather than later, that the Conference would live up to its name as being the only multilateral negotiating forum on disarmament and that it would do its bit for the survival of mankind.

Ambassador Nurlan Danenov of Kazakhstan said that despite the new threats to national and international interests, the enormous potential of the Conference remained untapped. A new political vision was necessary to combat new threats. The new challenges must be met with new and more effective means, but the international community’s political will for cooperation and compromise to allow the Conference to stand up to these new challenges was what was absent.

Ambassador U Mya Than of Myanmar, the President of the Conference, welcomed the new Ambassador of Israel to the Conference, and assured him of cooperation and support in his new assignment. He also welcomed participants in the UN Fellowship Programme on Disarmament who were attending the plenary.

The President said the Conference would today be bidding farewell to Ambassador Hussain of Malaysia and Ambassador Danenov of Kazakhstan who would soon be completing their duties in Geneva. The Conference was familiar with the outstanding diplomatic skills of Ambassador Hussain and her professionalism in representing her country at the Conference. She had been committed to solving the outstanding problems of the Conference and starting substantive work. Ambassador Danenov had arrived in Geneva in 1999, the same year that his country had become a Member State of the Conference. He had represented his country with remarkable authority and diplomatic skill. The President wished both Ambassadors and their families much success and happiness in the future.

The President said that the plenary would immediately be followed by an informal plenary to continue consideration of the draft annual report. The next plenary of the Conference would be held at 11 a.m. on Tuesday, 7 September. It would be the last plenary of the 2004 session of the Conference on Disarmament.

MARCELO VALLE FONROUGE (Argentina) said four years ago, the United Nations General Assembly had emphasized the primary role of the Conference in the negotiation of a treaty on the prevention of an arms race in outer space. Argentina had no doubt that the establishment of a subsidiary body on the prevention of an arms race in outer space in the Conference would be very helpful for the development of confidence-building measures which were of importance as a preliminary step to ensure stability and security in outer space.

Argentina was convinced that the next negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament should address a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty. The political support of the United States for such negotiations plus the fact that this item had the largest number of expressions of support among Member States offered ground for hoping that there would be a speedy approval of a programme of work. Argentina favoured the adoption of verification clauses, stressing a focused approach to acceptable verification methods without needless costs.

In conclusion, Argentina believed that the Conference needed to step up its efforts to find an end to the impasse in the Conference so that it could commence its role as a multilateral negotiating body.

ITZHAK LEVANON (Israel), in an opening statement, said that he was pleased to be sitting in this hall for his first plenary meeting. He looked forward to actively participating in the work of the Conference on Disarmament. He assured the President of his delegation’s full support for all future endeavours. He also intended to remain unreservedly available to work in close cooperation with the President and with all his distinguished colleagues, and to start working on relevant matters as soon as possible.

RAJMAH HUSSAIN (Malaysia), in a farewell statement, said that the experience of having been a President of the Conference on Disarmament for a month in February/March this year had led her to observe, as others had observed before and after her, that the duration of the Presidency was perhaps too short for any concrete proposal to be pushed to a successful conclusion by any one President. At the same time, the reality was that the outcome of any negotiations or proposals in the Conference was very much beyond the control of any one Conference President, since tangible progress in the complex field of disarmament was a factor of the international political and security climate. The much elusive political will by some key States to make progress was still not forthcoming.

Ambassador Hussein recalled that the first time she had walked into the Council Chamber in 1982 was not as a Disarmament Ambassador, but as a Disarmament Fellow. The UN Fellowship Programme on Disarmament had exposed her for the first time to various disarmament concepts, but her real education in disarmament came much later during a visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 2002. It was there that she had come face to face with the stark reality and the devastating effects of a nuclear war. The Non-Alignment Movement, which Malaysia currently had the honour to chair, was doing its bit for the future survival of humanity by putting the highest priority on the issue of nuclear disarmament. The Mayors of Hiroshima and Nagasaki had graciously invited the Ambassadors of the Conference on Disarmament to visit and witness for themselves the horror of a nuclear war. It would be a pity if the Conference Ambassadors did not take up these invitations.

In conclusion, Ambassador Hussain hoped that the time would come, sooner rather than later, that the Conference would live up to its name as being the only multilateral negotiating forum on disarmament and do its bit for the survival of mankind.

NURLAN DANENOV (Kazakhstan), in a farewell statement, assured the President of the Conference that the delegation of Kazakhstan would do its utmost to help the Conference achieve progress in its work. He also thanked the President for his kind words. As his assignment in Geneva would be coming to an end during the intersessional period of the Conference, he wished to share some comments on the work of this body. It was now exactly five years since Kazakhstan had become a full-fledged member of the Conference. Yet to its great regret, during this period, the Conference had been unable to adopt its programme of work. Despite the new threats to national and international interests, the enormous potential of the Conference remained untapped. When combating new national and international threats, appropriate political and diplomatic efforts were required. A new political vision was necessary to combat new threats. The new challenges must be met with new and more effective means, but the international community’s political will for cooperation and compromise to allow the Conference to stand up to these new challenges was what was absent.

The lack of real negotiations in the Conference could leave it on the sidelines of the disarmament process. The Conference must be used in a responsible way to solve key disarmament problems. Recently, a number of proposals had been put forward, but because of the different interests and priorities of Member States, they had not been adopted. Kazakhstan fully supported the Five Ambassadors proposal and favoured the start of negotiations of a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty and a treaty on the prevention of an arms race in outer space within the Conference. They were essential.

Kazakhstan paid all due attention to non-proliferation issues, and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction was one of the main challenges to international security. Kazakhstan valued the establishment of a global partnership against the spread of weapons of mass destruction. All countries should take measures to prevent the spread of these weapons and to stop terrorists from getting their hands on them. Since Kazakhstan had become a member of the Conference, it had taken specific steps to strengthen the non-proliferation regime in the country. It was also actively involved in the development of a nuclear weapons free zone in Central Asia.

In conclusion, members of the Conference would agree that without strengthening confidence-building measures, it would be difficult to speak of real progress concerning disarmament. Kazakhstan was convinced that if each State adopted within its own national measures to strengthen the non-proliferation regime, the world would become much safer.