CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT HEARS FROM SPEAKER
OF HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES OF JAPAN

The Conference on Disarmament this morning, heard a statement from the Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, who urged States to commit further to the cause of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regime, and for all to work towards nuclear disarmament. It also heard briefly from the new Representative of the United States to the Conference on Disarmament, and from the Representative of Syria.

Yohei Kono, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, said in recent years, the NPT regime had regrettably been seriously shaken. One cause was that the results of nuclear disarmament efforts by the nuclear weapon States were insufficient, but there was also a movement towards forcing opponents into submission through threats aided by nuclear weapons. There was deep-rooted disagreement in some States for this regime, which recognised some countries as nuclear weapon States, while the others were not. Non-nuclear weapon States should embark on a path to strongly urge the nuclear weapon States to implement their undertakings towards nuclear disarmament while strictly complying with the NPT regime.

Christina Rocca, the new Representative of the United States to the Conference, said the United States was clearly committed to the success of the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT), and the Conference on Disarmament’s work this year had built a foundation which could help in the future.

Hussein Ali of Syria spoke on the use of cluster bombs, as well as phosphorous shells, by Israel against Lebanese civilians, saying that with the passage of time, a number of serious facts had been revealed. According to an Israeli newspaper, entire towns had been covered in cluster bombs, and that the Israeli army had fired about 800 cluster bombs, containing millions of cluster bomblets. The Army had also used phosphorus shells, which were widely forbidden under international law. Due to the importance of this subject matter, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Syrian Mission had sent a letter to the President of the Conference on Disarmament in order to discuss this matter under the agenda item on transparency in the field of disarmament.

The next plenary session of the Conference on Disarmament will be on Friday, 15 September, when it will hold its final meeting of the 2006 session.

Statements

YOHEI KONO, Speaker of the House of Representatives of Japan, said when speaking of impact to human survival, the development of nuclear weapons in the mid-twentieth century was no less profound than the industrial revolution. This inhumane weapon of enormous destructive power, which continued to cause suffering to its survivors through radiation sickness long after the blast, was unfortunately used directly on two cities of the speaker’s homeland. Despite this, Governments to date had been unsuccessful at overcoming and containing the existence of nuclear weapons, which were a threat to human survival. With the prospects of eliminating nuclear weapons clearly a difficult task to achieve in one step, the international community opted for a second-best policy, constructing the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) regime, and this had contributed greatly to the maintenance of peace and security. However, in recent years, it had regrettably been seriously shaken. One cause was that the results of nuclear disarmament efforts by the nuclear weapon States were insufficient, but there was also a movement towards forcing opponents into submission through threats aided by nuclear weapons.

There was deep-rooted disagreement in some States for this regime, which recognised some countries as nuclear weapon States, while the others were not. Non-nuclear weapon States should embark on a path to strongly urge the nuclear weapon States to implement their undertakings towards nuclear disarmament while strictly complying with the NPT regime. With regards to the Conference on Disarmament, the proposal put forward by the United States on an FMCT had a constructive significance. Countries had different views concerning the draft treaty itself in its current state, but these differences should be resolved in the negotiations through the exchange of ideas and thoughts. Each country should make the utmost effort to build consensus, even after the end of this year’s formal session.

CHRISTINA ROCCA (United States) said the United States was clearly committed to the success of the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT), and the Conference on Disarmament’s work this year had built a foundation which could help in the future. The United States would continue to work for an adoption by consensus of the final report of the session, and she looked forward to working with all present in sustaining and continuing the momentum built over the last year.

HUSSEIN ALI (Syria) said some delegates, including Syria, had spoken in previous meetings on the use of cluster bombs, as well as phosphorous shells, by Israel against Lebanese civilians. With the passage of time, a number of serious facts had been revealed. According to an Israeli newspaper, entire towns had been covered in cluster bombs, and that the Israeli army had fired about 800 cluster bombs, containing millions of cluster bomblets. The Army had also used phosphorus shells, which were widely forbidden under international law. A large majority of these explosives had been fired during the last 10 days of the war. The newspaper article said unguided and imprecise missiles had also been used, and the use of such weaponry was controversial due to their imprecision. A significant quantity of unexploded munitions, estimated to be about 500,000, now littered the landscape in Lebanon, and would continue to claim lives after the war. A direct hit from a phosphorus shell caused severe burns and a slow and painful death, and international law forbade such unnecessary suffering. The ICRC had determined that international law forbade the use of phosphorus and other such items.

Due to the importance of this subject matter, the Chargé d’Affaires of the Syrian Mission had sent a letter to the President of the Conference on Disarmament in order to discuss this matter under the agenda item on transparency in the field of disarmament, and had requested this letter be distributed as an official document, and to include it in the final report of the Conference on Disarmament of 2006.