PARLIAMENTARY VICE-MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF JAPAN ADDRESSES CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT

The Conference on Disarmament this morning heard from Chinami Nishimura, Parliamentary Vice-President for Foreign Affairs, who said that with the forthcoming Global Nuclear Security Summit and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, this year was a critical juncture towards the realization of a world without nuclear weapons. Japan believed that nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation should be globally tackled in a focused and practical way.

It should be applauded that last year the Conference on Disarmament had overcome 11 years of paralysis and had adopted a programme of work, said Ms. Nishimura. The international community had pinned great hopes on this move. It was however regrettable that after this development, no agreement could be reached on implementing the programme of work. To ensure concrete progress in the Conference on Disarmament, Member States should concentrate their efforts on an early adoption of a programme of work based on last year’s agreement.

While the current international community was under the threat of nuclear weapons development and the risk of nuclear terrorism, it was critical for the whole world to advance steady efforts in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, said Ms. Nishimura.

Turning to Japan’s activities, Ms. Nishimura noted that at the General Assembly last year, Japan had submitted a resolution on the elimination of nuclear weapons. Japan promoted the early entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty and had contributed to the technical aspects associated with the setting up of its verification system. Japan had also been active in reinforcing the International Atomic Energy Agency’s Safeguards System. Furthermore, it had launched the International Commission on Nuclear Non-proliferation and Disarmament as a joint initiative with Australia.

Japan shared the view that the threat of nuclear weapons was one of the most serious issues that humankind faced. It was essential to strengthen international cooperation to bolster fundamentally the current international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime, said Ms. Nishimura.

Nuclear disarmament by all States that possessed nuclear weapons was crucial. Japan anticipated that the United States and the Russian Federation would soon conclude a Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty follow-on treaty. Japan also called on all other States possessing nuclear weapons to carry out additional nuclear disarmament efforts in a transparent manner. Applying the principles of irreversibility and verifiability was also important for these efforts, said Ms. Nishimura.

The early entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was a matter of great significance and Japan strongly desired the prompt ratification of this treaty by all the Annex 2 countries, including the United States and China. Pending the treaty’s entry into force, Japan definitely demanded the continuation of the nuclear testing moratorium, said Ms. Nishimura.

Ms. Nishimura noted that last year’s programme of work which included the commencement of negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty had been agreed to by consensus. Such a treaty was a must have step to achieve a world without nuclear weapons. Japan thus strongly appealed for the early commencement and conclusion of negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty, within the Conference on Disarmament. Any issues including existing stocks should be dealt within the process of negotiations. Pending the entry into force of such a treaty, Japan urged all States possessing nuclear weapons to declare and maintain a moratorium on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons purposes.

The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference this coming May was a critical moment that required each country to make unified efforts, said Ms. Nishimura. The Review Conference should not be a venue for confrontation between the nuclear and non-nuclear weapon States, but a place for cooperation.

Tomorrow’s fortieth anniversary of the entry into force of the Non-Proliferation Treaty reminded of the Conference on Disarmament’s illustrious record of negotiating and producing some of the key international disarmament and arms control treaties, said Ms. Nishimura. Even in the midst of the Cold War, the Conference had negotiated such vital instruments as the Biological and Toxins Weapons Convention. It was now time for the Conference to get back to work and to fulfil its primary role.

The next meeting of the Conference on Disarmament will be held on Friday, 5 March at 10 a.m., when it is scheduled to hear from the Kazakh Minister for Foreign Affairs, Kanat Saudabayev.


For use of the information media; not an official record

DC10/014E