Conference on Disarmament
July 31st
President Jurg Streuli
Unofficial Transcript

We have now all returned from our summer break, which for some has meant a summer holiday as I can see that many of you are looking tan.  For others this has meant holidays of consultations in Capitals.  For the Presidents it has been a holiday of consultations. 

As you know, the UN Secretary General Mr. Ban Ki-Moon recently appointed Ambassador Sergio Duarte, who we know well and was the President of the 2005 NPT Conference to the rank of most senior representative for the Conference under the rank of Secretary General.  I have sent the Ambassador a letter of congratulations on behalf of the Conference. 

Dear colleagues, we are now initiating the third 2007 session.  According to the flexible plan established at the beginning of the session, we are going to work during the next three weeks on the basis of progressive impact.  The week of the 20th of August will be spent evaluating the previous three weeks and the following three weeks (in other words from the 27th August to the 14th of September) in order to consider the adoption of work.  Obviously this plan could be adopted according to progress made in our work.  We are working towards the adoption of the following documents, documents which have been adapted now that we are in part three. 

I wish to remind you that on the 28th June 2007 in the last plenary session of the second session this year that I asked the Secretariat to publish the report of the Presidents of the Conference in relation to the second part of the 2007 session, including these three annexes as the official documents of the Conference.  These annexes embody the context in which the Conference was working up until the second part of this year’s session before it adjourned for its summer recess.  As you will recall, the annexes were as follows: Annex 1- Draft Decision by the Conference (14 June 2007), Annex 2- CD/2007/L.1 21 (March 2007), Annex 3- CD/2007/CRP.5 (14 June 2007).  I understand that this document is being posted by the Secretariat at this moment.  Furthermore, also at that meeting, I stated that for obvious reasons CD/2007/L.1 would have to be reissued with the deletion of the words “second part” in each paragraph.  The new document now carries the number CD/2007/L.1**.  As this document is referred to in the other two documents, that is CRP.5 and the Draft Decision by the Conference, they are now being reissued as CD/2007/CRP.5* and CD/2007/CRP.6.  Please note that there are no substantive changes in these documents.  The Secretariat has distributed a copy of these three documents in English.  The other language versions are also available in this group.  So that is what I have to say about the documents for the last part of the session. 

It must be noted that we have very little time left and we have to accept the fact that the closer we come to a consensus, the longer and more complex the decision making process becomes, not necessarily in Geneva, but in certain Capitals where the decision is taken at a very high level and the vote consists of a number of Ministries and Institutions.  As I have just said here, we must accept this and give the necessary time for these decisions to be taken.  This situation also means that things must take a lot longer in the Capitals concerned that in Geneva.  This does not mean that we are condemned to inactivity in Geneva, but I believe that currently it is the steps take in the Capitals that are able to bring us forward towards a consensus.  Let us use the small amount of time remaining to us this year for these specialties. 

As I already indicated at the beginning, I used the summer recess for consultations with a number of delegations.  Those consultations have shown that the positions of delegations, for the time being, have not changed, or that they are awaiting instructions over the next few days.  I am sorry not to be able to tell you more and I can only repeat that time is short. 

With our three documents for a long time, we have never been so close to a consensus and the alternative today is no longer between the current L.1 which is amended or approved, but between the current L.1.  Each member of the CD, the Conference on Disarmament, must first evaluate what serves its security interest better; a work program, even if imperfect, and each consensus by definition is imperfect; or a Disarmament Conference which will go back into lethargy and immobility for many years. 

Well this brings our first part of the 2007 to a close; I would like to ask if any delegates would like to take the floor.

 There is nobody that wants to take the floor?  Well then I can announce that the next plenary session of the Disarmament Conference will take place on Tuesday, the 7th of August 2007 in this conference room.  The Director General for the Organization of the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons will join us to make a statement.

I should also like to inform you of the exhibition in front of the Council chambers organized for the 10th anniversary of the entering into force of the Chemical Weapons Convention.  We invite all of you to attend the opening of this exhibition on the 7th of August at 9:30 by the Secretary General of the Conference on Disarmament. 

One last remark is not to forget the reception offered by the Swiss government which will take place on Thursday the 19th of August at 6:30pm at the Villa.  This will be a banquet and the invitations will be sent out today. 

If no other speakers wish to take the floor, I hereby adjourn this meeting.