Reaching Critical Will

Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)

Conference on Disarmament

General Assembly First Committee

UN Disarmament Commission

Special Session on Disarmament

Statement by Mrs Mabel Gómez Oliver of Mexico to the Conference on Disarmament 2nd September 2008

Unofficial Transcript

Thank you very much Mr President

We are particularly pleased to see Venezuela presiding over the work of the CD. Allow me, Mr Ambassador, to congratulate you for the very constructive spirit with which you have conducted our conference and would like to express to you that you can count on support of the delegation of Mexico in your difficult work. I would also seize the opportunity to thank those who worked before you: Ambassador of United States, United Kingdom, Ukraine, Tunisia, and Turkey, who over the course of 2008 have shown their commitment and their untiring, unswerving efforts to break the deadlock that the only body which has been said the only multilateral negotiating body and which has been set up for disarmament.

Mr President, my delegation acknowledges the work and very intense consultations you have held with members of this body with a view to a draft annual report that will be submitted to the General Assembly and that reports in a factual way what has occurred in 2008. We consider that the draft report that you have submitted to us; is objective, is balanced and it reflects in general and factual terms the developments and everything that has taken place this year, although we could contribute with a few minimal amendments, the delegation of Mexico would be prepared to support the draft report as it stands now.

Before concluding sir, I would also like to pay tribute to the excellent work that was done by the coordinators. Over the course of the year, they guided these substantive debates and discussions on the seven themes on the topics of the agenda. These debates have contributed towards a more frank and open dialogue between delegations. The exchanges that took place in this context between the members of the Conference, at the very least gave us an opportunity to discuss and to ponder matters of substance, topics that are extremely important for international community and about which we should be moving forward in a decisive way because they carry risk and threaten the survival of human kind. It is very important for us to resort to every measure available so that in the short term in the very new future we can arrive at an agreement in the program of work as mentioned by delegations who spoke before me this morning, an agreement that would make it possible for us to shoulder fully our responsibilities as members of this Conference on Disarmament on the basis of the enthusiasm that prevailed during our substantive debate and setting aside the national interest for a moment but we all have to promote these, we have to move towards the building of a consensus that will take us out of a paralysis or deadlock and make it possible to restore the creditably of this forum with concrete actions that will strengthen international peace and security.

Mr President, allow me to reiterate the willingness, the readiness of Mexico to continue to work towards such a praising worthy and of course to cooperate with you, with your delegations and with all of the members of the CD in order to conclude our work on the draft report that we have before us.

Thank you Sir.