Statement of the Ambassador of Germany Dr. Gunther Seibert to the Conference on Disarmament 14/6/01

Let me first congratulate you of the assumption of this important office, especially at a very critical stage in this Conference. I would also like to thank you for all the efforts that you have undertaken that have led us to the decision that the Conference has just taken and would like to use this occasion to thank all of your predecessors, on whose efforts you have been able to build.
The decision that the Conference has taken this year is the first decision of its kind that the Conference has been able to take for the last two and a half years. That is why we attach great importance to this decision. Because it is at least a first step toward breaking out of the complete stalemate of the last more than two years. It is also a first step toward recreating some dialogue in this Conference, a dialogue that has hardly taken place lately. It is at least an implementation of the decision taken by the Conference at the start of this year's session namely to resume its consultations on the reform of the agenda so we attach greatest importance to this decision.

At the same time you yourself have said Mr. President that this is a very modest decision. In fact it is quite difficult to understand even for an insider why the Conference was not able to take a decision like that two years ago. So the conclusion must be and this is stated of course in the decision that was taken, that this can only be a first step. The Conference can not just lean back and wait for the special coordinators to produce results. We must go on of course trying to solve the major issues. As long as we do not succeed in solving the major issues we must continue to work and to create a dialogue on the major issues. That is why we see this decision only as a very first step in a step-by-step procedure to get this Conference back to real substantive work and to negotiations, to its original function. We believe that this first step should be followed by a second step. A second step could be, as we have proposed together with Italy for a long time, to take a decision on the other uncontroversial matters. Maybe 1 should say uncontested items in view of certain comments, which have been made in the past. 1 would like to underline that these items are not uncontroversial in substance but at least since the presidency of the Algerian Ambassador Dembri, they have been considered by the Conference as uncontested elements of the future work of the Conference. In fact if these items were uncontroversial in substance then we wouldn't need any special coordinators but we should continue this process that you Mr. President have begun.

In considering other steps, this second step could be the appointment of the two special coordinators on special anti-personnel mines and transparency in armaments as well as the creation of an Ad Hoc committee on NSA. If that should be too ambitious, one could consider the creation of such an Ad Hoc committee also as a third step. The point is that we have to realize after the experience of the last two and a half years that we cannot solve all problems at the same time. This approach has miserably failed and we are very grateful to you Mr. President for leading us on a different course, on a course of step-bystep gradual achievements. I would like to underline what has been said by the distinguished Ambassador of Italy. The appointment of special coordinators is a purely procedural step. Special coordinators are procedural instruments to help the Conference gain a clear view on a certain item and to help the Conference get clarity on whether consensus is possible on a certain item or maybe no consensus is possible. That can also be the outcome. The appointment of a special coordinator does not in any way prejudge the positions of delegations on substantive items. It does not constitute the beginning of negotiations. The role of the special coordinator is to determine whether consensus can be found on a certain item to start substantive negotiations.

Finally Mr. President, I would like to conclude my few remarks by saying that we fully support all your efforts also in the future and those of your successors. We will actively support these special coordinators and hopefully future special coordinators in their work. We will do our best to contribute ideas and substance to their work. And we will support you and your successors in solving the two outstanding major issues that would allow the Conference to really start work and to do what it has been created for, to negotiate. Thank you Mr. President.