Ambassador Khan of Pakistan expressed the profound shock of the Conference over the assassination last week of Sri Lanka's deeply respected Statesman, Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. His demise would be felt most astutely in the region. Ambassador Khan also extended a warm welcome to the students from Nagasaki who like every year came to present a petition signed by thousands of students from Nagasaki and Hiroshima to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in which they called for the abolition of nuclear weapons. He also bid farewell to Ambassador Markku Reimaa of Finland who had articulated and upheld the positions of his Government with skill and authority. He had also enriched the deliberations of the Conference with his profound knowledge. Ambassador Khan bid farewell to Ann Pollack of the Canadian Mission who had completed four years of her tenure at the Conference. Ms. Pollack was thanked for her contribution to the work of the Conference.

Egypt said that with the beginning of the third and last part of the 2005 session of the Conference, it was evident that prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS) was one of the most important topics before it. Egypt welcomed the renewed interest in this vital subject. Outer space was the joint heritage of humanity and it should be used peacefully. There was a need to adopt a legal, integrated and binding instrument in order to deal with the shortages of the legal regime on outer space.

Finland said that during the Ambassador's very long stay at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, he had nearly made a full circle, but he had not seen resolution of the question of the programme of work. As President of the Conference in March to May 2002, he had proposed CD 1670 which had been concise and comprehensive. Today he was frustrated to some extent because the problems were not in Geneva, they were privileged and covered conceptual approaches, short and medium term priorities and longstanding goals and principles. Progress in disarmament should be facilitated by measures to strengthen the security of States and to improve the international situation in general.

Also speaking this morning was Sri Lanka to thank the Conference and colleagues for their expressions of shock and sadness over the assassination of the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka; Japan to extended a warm welcome to the students from Nagasaki who were attending the meeting of the Conference; France to bid farewell to the Ambassador of Finland; and Canada to thank for the kind words addressed to her before her departure.

The next plenary of the Conference will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 25 August.

Statements

MASOOD KHAN (Pakistan), President of the Conference, expressed the profound shock of the Conference over the assassination last week of Sri Lanka's deeply respected Statesman, Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. His demise would be felt most astutely in the region. The Conference deplored this criminal and senseless act of terrorism and hoped that the perpetrators would be found and punished. The Conference also offered to the family of the Foreign Minister and to the people and Government of Sri Lanka its condolences and sympathy.

Ambassador Khan extended a warm welcome to the students from Nagasaki who like every year came to present a petition signed by thousands of students from Nagasaki and Hiroshima to United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan in which they called for the abolition of nuclear weapons. The students' interest in the work of the Conference on Disarmament was welcomed.

The President of the Conference said he also wished to bid farewell to Ambassador Markku Reimaa of Finland who was would soon be completing his duties in Geneva. Ever since Ambassador Reimaa had joined the Conference in March 1997, he had articulated and upheld the positions of his Government with skill and authority. He had also enriched the deliberations of the Conference with his profound knowledge. His strong commitment to overcome the impasse in the Conference was highlighted when he was President of the Conference in 2002. His persistent search for consensus had culminated in proposals to establish subsidiary bodies of the Conference. He was also the longest serving Ambassador to the Conference. On behalf of the Conference, Ambassador Khan said he wished Ambassador Reimaa and his wife all success and happiness in the future.

Ambassador Khan said he also wished to say goodbye to Ann Pollack of the Canadian Mission who had completed four years of her tenure at the Conference. Ms. Pollack was thanked for her contribution to the work of the Conference and he wished her success in her future assignment.

NAELA GABR (Egypt) said Egypt associated itself with the words of the President and presented its condolences over the assassination of Foreign Minister Lakshman Kadirgamar. Egypt condemned all acts of terrorism carried out by irresponsible groups. Egypt also welcomed the students visiting from Nagasaky. She also bid farewell and thanks to her Finnish and Canadian colleagues who were leaving the Conference.

Ambassador Gabr said that with the beginning of the third and last part of the 2005 session of the Conference, it was evident that prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS) was one of the most important topics before the Conference. Egypt welcomed the renewed interest in this vital subject. Egypt and Sri Lanka annually took turns at the First Committee of the General Assembly to present a draft resolution every year on PAROS. Egypt believed that outer space was the joint heritage of humanity and that it should be used peacefully. There was a need to adopt a legal, integrated and binding instrument in order to deal with the shortages of the legal regime on outer space. The General Assembly had urged the Conference on Disarmament, as the sole multilateral body on disarmament issues, to start negotiating such an instrument.

Egypt welcomed the efforts of the Russian Federation and China to reach an international agreement on PAROS. These efforts were an important step in addressing the militarization of outer space and would be an important contribution. Any future legal instrument should prevent militarization of outer space and should include matters of cooperation and assistance to guarantee that the use of outer space was in the interest of all humanity. There was an increasing gap between countries with capabilities to outer space and those who did not have such capabilities. The repercussions of any arms race in outer space would have disastrous effects. Egypt supported the start of negotiations within the Conference of a comprehensive system to stop outer space from being used for military reasons, and this within the framework of a programme of work for the Conference which was agreed upon by consensus.

MARKKU REIMAA (Finland) said that during his very long stay at the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, he had nearly made a full circle, but he had not seen resolution of the question of the programme of work. As President of the Conference in March to May 2002, he had proposed CD 1670 which had been concise and comprehensive. Today he was frustrated to some extent because the problems were not in Geneva, they were privileged and covered conceptual approaches, short and medium term priorities and longstanding goals and principles. Progress in disarmament should be facilitated by measures to strengthen the security of States and to improve the international situation in general.

Ambassador Reimaa said the international situation had changed a lot during the last eight years. When the FMCT ado hoc group started its work in August 1998, it was in the aftermath of the Indian and Pakistani nuclear tests. Today, Finland noted the inability of the Conference to continue working on the FMCT which had been one of the most concrete disappointments. As had been stated many times by the European Union, Finland was ready to engage in discussions on other substantive matters which other delegations considered to be important. Finland believed that no problem was too big to be worth trying to solve peacefully and in cooperation with others.

SARALA FERNANDO (Sri Lanka) thanked the President, the Egyptian Ambassador and her colleagues for their expressions of shock and sadness over the assassination of the Foreign Minister of Sri Lanka. These expressions of sympathy had given strength to the Government as this terrorism act had placed a great strain on the peace process in Sri Lanka.

KAZUYA OGAWA (Japan) extended a warm welcome to the students from Nagasaki who were attending the meeting of the Conference. Students from Nagasaki had been coming to Geneva since 1998 but this year, their presence had a particular significance and it marked the sixtieth anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The students of Nagasaki were trying to sensitise the world to the horror of nuclear attacks and to spread a message for peace. He hoped the international community would listen carefully to the students.

FRANCOIS RIVASSEAU (France) said the Conference would be losing a great friend and a lot of experience with the parting of Ambassador Reimaa of Finland. When Ambassador Reimaa was President of the Conference in March 2002, he had produced a set of proposals for a work programme and it would seem that these proposals were not just among the most ingenious but also those closest to consensus by the Member States. The Conference would do well to revisit these proposals. Looking at the more recent proposals, the ones closest to the proposals of Finland were those most likely to succeed. On behalf of France, Ambassador Rivasseau said he wished Ambassador Reimaa all the best.

ANN POLLACK (Canada) thanked the President and her colleagues for their kind words. It was with regret that she was leaving the Conference after four years with no activity. It was her personal hope and the hope of Canada that the Conference would soon be able to go ahead with its programme of work.

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