Speech - Bulgaria, Nov 2000

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Conference on Disarmament

General Assembly First Committee

UN Disarmament Commission

Special Session on Disarmament

CLOSING REMARKS

BY H.E. Mr. PETKO DRAGANOV - AMBASSADOR, PERMANENT

REPRESENTATIVE OF THE REPUBLIC OF BULGARIA.. PRESIDENT OF

THE CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT

I will then proceed With some Short closing remarks.

In the opening remarks I set two principal objectives in my work as the year's last presiding officer of the Conference on Disarmament - to continue the efforts towards finding a compromise on the program of work, and to facilitate the adoption of the Conferences Report to the General Assembly of the United Nations.

The second task has just been accomplished and I am grateful to all delegations for the assistance and the collaboration that have made this possible. I believe the Report we have adopted is factual and accurate in accounting for the Conference's activities in the year 2000.

With regard to the first task, I am compelled to conclude today,, on behalf of this Conference. that we have used yet another session mostly on trying to pre-negotiate the conditions for our possible future negotiations on the different topics of our Agenda. Which., coincidentally, we happen to agree upon. My consultations so far have confirmed that we are still short of a compromise on a program of work for the CD. And,, although there is a broad measure of agreement on most of the elements for such a program. there are two. nuclear disarmament and the prevention of an arms race in outer space, that have still to be tackled further. Also. to be able to agree about anything in the program of work. we first seem to be In need of agreeing about everything. There were times when the situation seemed to be so serious that,, to use the famous quote, we could only joke about it. It is obvious that what we have is a tall order. and there should be nothing exceptional in the fact that it is taking us so long to fulfill.

That having been said, these past four weeks I have also been made aware of a number of promising signs in the CD. Out of the two outstanding Issues on our draft program of work, the one on nuclear disarmament seems to be a little closer to convergence of positions today than it was about a year ago. Also, there is a shared concern and an equivalent perception by most delegations I met with about the delicate stage at which we find ourselves in the Conference on Disarmament. The positive attitude of all members In preparing our Annual Report to the United Nations General Assembly as well as its contents also bear testimony to the good will prevailing in the CD for overcoming the hurdles in front of us. Our joint efforts brought about an encouraging development in CD/1624 as the accumulation of constructive ideas, expressed in the Conference during the current and previous years. The Report we adopted delivers a forward-looking recommendation to me and to my successor to conduct during the inter-sessions' period intensified consultations on the basis of the progress made. I intend those consultations to be open. pragmatic and cooperative, with the only goal of preparing a good beginning for the 2001-year session. All in all,, provided we are able to produce the necessary demonstrations of political will, we may very well be just a couple of critical steps away from the desired compromise and the start of substantive work In the Conference on Disarmament.

Quite like In a long distance run, the last few often prove to be the most difficult. But I believe that these steps will not be impossible to make; we are. after all, passing the relay to the next Millennium (and you must forgive me the cliché as desperate times call for desperate speeches). At this threshold in time We,, the Peoples are striving for a safer world., based on development and disarmament. We., the Peoples prefer to compete in sporting games,, rather than arms races. Our Heads of State and Government exercised political will In resolving earlier this month to share the responsibility for international peace and security. assigning special significance to disarmament, amongst others. Me CD as the sole multilateral negotiating forum in its field has a unique role to play in delivering on this commitment.

In concluding. I would like to express my gratitude to the Secretary-General of the Conference, Mr. Vladimir Petrovsky who today had to attend a memorial service and unfortunately could not be with us; to all the members of the Secretariat for their efficiency and valuable advice; to the interpreters, for their patience and dedication, and to all delegations for their cooperation and understanding.

Today we also have a special occasion. It is my honour and my privilege to pay tribute, on behalf of all the members of this Conference,. to the Deputy Secretary-General Mr. Abdelkader Bensmail who will be retiring later this year. Ambassador Bensmail has an illustrious diplomatic career. the fast more than twenty years of which were devoted to the Conference on Disarmament and to disarmament in general. His expert guidance and professional competence have been emblematic of the work of the Secretariat and will remain as an example to follow. He is what I would call the living history of this Conference and I can only hope that he put it all down on paper some day.

Ambassador Bensmail, your experience and outstanding contribution will be greatly missed by all of us. We wish you and your family good health, good luck and continued success.