Panel Discussion on “Disarmament and Collective Security” Research Project

Dr. Plesch,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen:

A warm welcome to the Palais des Nations and to this panel on disarmament and collective security.

I thank you, Dr. Plesch, and your team at the School of Oriental and African Studies for organizing this debate, already for the fourth time, and for the dedicated work on SCRAP, the “Strategic Concept for Removal of Arms and Proliferation”. SCRAP is a good example of how to instil future generations not only with a clear understanding of the need for disarmament but most importantly, with a readiness to get engaged to make it happen.

Thank you also to the Permanent Mission of Canada for hosting today’s event, and to the distinguished speakers for their participation. You demonstrate the very rich expertise in disarmament that we have in Geneva.

Progress in disarmament is more needed than ever in today’s world with its serious and growing conflict potential. Despite this urgent disarmament need, countries with and without armed conflicts modernize their weapon programmes and increase military expenditures. We are facing a real new global arms race in many regions. In addition, the development of new, technologically more sophisticated weapons is advancing faster than our ability to regulate their use. If the CD and the disarmament community continue to be divided and reinforce the current stalement, killer robots for example will soon decide whom to kill and whom not. I do not want to live in a world where decisions about life or death are left to robots. I guess that you do not want to live in such a world either. We need to urgently re-initiate multilateral disarmament negotiations to address these and other pressing security issues. The United Nations shares the goal which is at the heart of SCRAP, namely to achieve global disarmament through binding international agreements.

Geneva is historically the venue of choice for global peace and disarmament diplomacy. The Conference on Disarmament is here and a range of key disarmament instruments have been negotiated under the auspices of the CD or of its predecessors: the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention, the Biological Weapons Convention and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. We need to build upon these achievements. They are an enduring resource and a legacy for the future. Governments have repeatedly underlined the role of the Conference as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community and have expressed their attachement to this vital component of the disarmament machinery, despite its current deadlock.

The work of the United Nations in Geneva on peace and disarmament is complemented by a number of Non-Governmental Organizations providing research and advocacy. Think tanks, academia and NGOs are important partners for government representatives and international organizations. They provide much-needed intellectual input and out-of-the-box thinking that can inspire our negotiations and provide them with new impetus. Civil society actors do not have direct/formal access to the Conference on Disarmament which in my view is an anachronism that has to change. Other areas of activity show that we can learn a lot from non-state actors. To underline their added value I organized a CD-Civil Society Forum last year which was welcomed by both the CD and civil society. We will hold one this year as well.

Disarmament is not only a technical issue; it is multi-dimensional and therefore associated with other UN Charter objectives such as economic development and human rights. Creating a world at peace is not simply about strengthening security; the process of disarmament should lead to economic and social progress, justice and human rights, greater equality and accountability, and respect for the rule of law. In the same vein, disarmament builds on trust, accountability and the respect for international law. Thus, we expect disarmament to yield a peace dividend, and to positively affect the rights and well-being of the peoples of this world. We need to place disarmament firmly in this broader understanding of how we build a better world through a more holistic approach, an approach that prioritizes prevention rather than reaction.

Geneva, as the city of peace, rights and well-being, is well placed to connect these different dimensions. It provides the conditions where governments, international organizations, civil society and academia can join forces in support of disarmament and non-proliferation. We need the public to push harder for progress. And we need innovative input to move the debate beyond entrenched positions. The SCRAP project is an important ally in this quest and I wish you and us all that the well-chosen acronym become a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Disarmament is one of the greatest legacies to pass on to future generations. I hope that your exchange today will help to take this objective forward. You sit in this room today as students, and I appeal to you to stay involved. Please study hard and be ready to become the future generation of disarmament brokers. Pressure us, the current disarmament negotiators, in whatever way you can, to succeed in breaking our current deadlocks and bring back our world onto a path of sustainable peace.

I thank you and wish you a very fruitful discussion.