20 June 2006

At the opening of its first plenary during the week of focus on new weapons of mass destruction and radiological weapons, the Minister of Foreign Affairs from the Republic of Korea, Mr. Ban Ki-moon and the Vice-minister of Foreign Affairs of Japan, Professor Akiko Yamanaka spoke at the Conference on Disarmament (CD).

Switzerland, Belarus, Russia, France, Germany and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea also took the floor. Mr. Ban Ki-moon has been nominated by the Republic of Korea as a candidate for Secretary General of the United Nations.

Program of Work and New Issues
States discussed the elusive Program of Work in the context of today's topic, "New weapons of Mass Destruction and new systems of such weapons; Radiological Weapons" and the most popular, but not consensus supported, proposal, the Five Ambassadors' (A5) proposal.

Professor Akiko Yamanaka from Japan recommended the CD begin work by doing what can be done, implying the CD should work on the Fissile Materials Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) even if it does not work on the other core issues. She said the FMCT is considered ripe because no country has voiced objection to beginning negotiations, and criticized the Five Ambassadors' proposal. "The Five Ambassadors proposals for a program of work has produced few results, and we must break from its spell. We must review the present situation with fresh eyes while distancing ourselves from the past approaches," said Professor Yamanaka.

Although the A5 proposal focuses on four core issues, (FMCT, the prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS), negative security assurances, nuclear disarmament) it also includes the appointment of a Special Coordinator to would seek the views of CD member states on the most appropriate way to deal with radiological weapons. Germany considered this proposal to constitute the lowest common denominator acceptable and called upon world community to ban radiological weapons as an act of preventive arms control. "We believe that a Radiological Weapons Convention could create an important international norm… A Radiological Weapons Convention could be an expression of the fact that the issue of protecting radioactive materials is not a national matter but a joint responsibility of the international community."

Even though Russia would not object to the appointment of a Special Coordinator as suggested in accordance with the A5 proposal, "it is obvious that a possible compromise on the Program of Work can be found on the basis of a balanced approach to the so called four "core issues", and this item is not a part of them," said Deputy Representative Anton Vasiliev. Belarus said other issues could only be dealt with once the key issues were resolved.

In a joint statement with France, Switzerland again proposed the CD address a different new issue: critical civilian infrastructure. By discussing critical civilian infrastructure, France and Switzerland are trying to address terrorism. France said protecting critical infrastructure, like nuclear power stations, ports and roads, could not be neglected, and is at the forefront of many countries' security concerns.

The Korean Peninsula
The Foreign Minister of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Ban Ki-moon, spoke about the Six Party Talks, where North Korea committed to abandon all nuclear weapons and existing nuclear programs while the United States, China, the Republic of Korea, Russia and Japan agreed to give extend economic and energy assistance and normalize relations with North Korea. Mr Ban Ki-moon was concerned about North Korea's missile launch preparations, and the negative effect this would have on the Korean peninsula, North East Asia and international efforts against proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

The Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK/North Korea) was disappointed with the statement made by the Republic of Korea (RoK/South Korea), and replied that it was only an attempt to push Mr. Ban Ki-moon's personal aim to become the Secretary General of the United Nations. The Representative of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea said that "The statement of the Foreign Minister of South Korea, particular on the Korean issue, is surprisingly aggressive and unexpected when we see positive developments taking place between the North and South of Korea after the historic adoption of the North-South joint declaration on 15 June 2000 in, Pyongyang."

DPRK also referred to their May 19 statement, in which they said that if the US demonstrates the political will to abide by the Joint Statement (9.19 Joint Statement by the Six-party Talks) and puts it into action, they will rejoin the NPT.

The next plenary meeting will be held Wednesday 21 June at 11 am, when the Secretary General of United Nations, Kofi Annan will speak to the Conference.

-Beatrice Fihn, Disarmament Intern 
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom