Reaching Critical Will

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Conference on Disarmament

General Assembly First Committee

UN Disarmament Commission

Special Session on Disarmament

UN SECRETARY-GENERAL RENEWS CALL TO CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT TO ADOPT SPIRIT OF COMPROMISE AND SEIZE HISTORIC OPPORTUNITY TO END IMPASSE
Conference also Addressed by Foreign Minister of Tunisia, Representatives of Eastern European Group, Group of 21, Western Group and China
23 January 2008

UN Press Release

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon today addressed the opening plenary of the 2008 session of the Conference on Disarmament and renewed his call for the Conference to move forward in a spirit of compromise to seize historic opportunity and end the impasse in its work.

This marked the first time that a United Nations Secretary-General has addressed the yearly opening of the Conference on Disarmament.

Secretary-General Ban observed that the international community valued the Conference on Disarmament, as the world’s single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum – but they needed progress. Even with widespread agreement on the gravity of threats to international peace and security, the Conference still had not been able to find common cause to address them. He was deeply troubled by this impasse over priorities. Last year, the Conference had been poised to resume its role as the world’s pre-eminent disarmament negotiating body. The six Presidents for 2007 had crafted a proposal for negotiations to begin on a treaty to ban the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices – and to focus on other core issues. When the Conference had been on the verge of reaching a decision on that draft presidential decision last June, he had called on them to move forward in a spirit of compromise to seize that historic opportunity. They had not. He was here now to personally renew that call.

To get back on the path to success, the Conference had to rekindle the ambition and sense of common purpose that produced its past accomplishments, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, the Secretary-General said. Those milestone pacts showed the potential of the Conference. To harness that now, they needed political vision. The fate of the draft presidential decision would depend greatly on forward-thinking leadership and political support. In that process, the Conference on Disarmament would continue to have his full support for the start of negotiations on a fissile material treaty. Those talks would advance nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation objectives – and they were needed now. In making that call, he was not at all discounting the importance of preventing an arms race in outer space, or negative security assurances, or nuclear disarmament per se. However, the Conference had to decide how to organize its treatment of those issues without holding any of them hostage to the others.

In brief opening remarks, Ambassador Samir Labidi of Tunisia, President of the Conference, underscored that the Secretary-General's presence at the opening of the Conference's session added a new dimension to their efforts aimed at achieving substantive results in the Conference this year.

The plenary of the Conference was also addressed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Tunisia, as well as general statements from the Russian Federation, on behalf of the Eastern European Group, Sri Lanka, on behalf of the Group of 21, Italy on behalf of the Western Group, and China.

Abdelwaheb Abdallah, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Tunisia, paid tribute to the Secretary-General for his presence at this important session and his willingness to enhance the efficiency of the Conference on Disarmament. Tunisia reiterated its determination to work in a spirit of constructive dialogue with the objective to reach consensual solutions. The Tunisian approach of international relations was based on a tight interdependence between security, peace and development. The relationship between disarmament and development, which was among the challenges facing the international community in order to contain poverty and focus efforts towards the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, was also stressed.

In general statements, the Russian Federation (on behalf of the Eastern European Group), Sri Lanka (on behalf of the Group of 21), Italy (on behalf of the Western Group), and China, all underscored that the presence of the Secretary-General at the Conference's opening was a manifestation of his high esteem for their forum, and agreed that his presence would inject a positive impetus for a return to substantive work in the Conference.

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