CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT ADOPTS ANNUAL REPORT TO GENERAL ASSEMBLY AND CLOSES 2007 SUBSTANTIVE SESSION

The Conference on Disarmament today adopted its report to the General Assembly and concluded its 2007 session. Speakers made statements, in which they expressed their frustration at coming extremely close to achieving consensus on a programme of work this year, after 10 years of deadlock, and hoped that the proposals and mechanisms that had been put forward in 2007 towards getting the Conference back to substantive work would come to fruition early in the 2008 session.

The annual report (CD/WP.546/Rev.1) details the organization of work of the Conference over the 2007 session, including the participants in the work of the Conference; attendance and participation of States not members of the Conference; the agenda and programme of work for the 2007 session; the expansion of the membership of the Conference; a review of the agenda of the Conference; improved and effective functioning of the Conference; and communications from non-governmental organizations. It also contains summaries of the substantive work of the session.

The report notes that the 2007 Presidents of the Conference appointed Coordinators for agenda items 1 to 7 and decided on the organizational framework of the Conference, without prejudice to any future decisions of the Conference on its programme of work. The Coordinators, under the authority of the 2007 Presidents, chaired informal meetings on agenda items 1 to 7 (cessation of a nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament; prevention of nuclear war; prevention of an arms race in outer space; effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons; new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons; radiological weapons; comprehensive programme of disarmament; and transparency in armaments).

A Presidential Draft Decision (CD/2007/L.1) was then submitted in March 2007, as a basis for an agreement to begin substantive work in the Conference, and successive Presidents conducted intensive consultations with a view to reaching agreement on it. In his report on part III of the 2007 session, the Conference President Ambassador Faysal Khabbaz Hammoui of Syria, gave an assessment of those consultations, noting that "a momentum was created to move the Conference out of its longstanding stalemate, and the efforts to reach an agreement to start substantive work must be continued". To that end, the annual report says that, building on the increased level and focus of its activities throughout 2007 and with a view to early commencement of substantive work during its 2008 session, the Conference requested the current President and the incoming President to conduct consultations during the intersessional period.

Presidential draft decision CD/2007/L.1 calls for the appointment of four coordinators to preside over substantive discussions on the issues of nuclear disarmament; prevention of an arms race in outer space; and negative security assurances; and to preside over negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. The Complementary Presidential Statement, CD/2007/CRP.5, reflects an understanding of the Conference on the implementation of the Presidential decision, and the third text CD/2007/CRP.6 is a short decision stating that when the Conference adopts the Presidential decision, it will be guided by the Presidential statement in its implementation. For technical reasons, the three documents had been reissued and were now CD/2007/L.1**, CD/2007/CRP.5* and CD/2007/CPR.6* respectively. Their content was unchanged.

On 14 June, the Conference heard a message by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in which he urged the Conference to overcome its differences and adopt Presidential draft decision CD/2007/L.1. In an earlier message, read out by UNOG Director-General Sergei Ordzhonikidze on 22 January, Secretary-General Ban had expressed his hope that the Conference would demonstrate the political resolve necessary to take the difficult measures necessary.

During its 2007 session the Conference on Disarmament heard statements from numerous dignitaries, including Ministers for Foreign Affairs from dozens of countries, as well as from the Director-General of the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, Rogelio Pfirter, Ambassador Masood Khan of Pakistan, in his capacity as President of the 2006 Review Conference and the 2007 Meetings of States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention, and the High Representative of the Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Serge Duarte.

In concluding remarks at today's meeting, Ambassador Khabbaz Hamoui of Syria, the President of the Conference, said that the annual report of the Conference reflected the desire of Member States to continue efforts towards a return of the Conference to the substantive work for which it had been created. Although all had made sincere efforts, it had still not been possible to adopt a programme of work which would have enabled the start of serious negotiations on the topics of concern to the Conference, in particular ridding the world of nuclear weapon. However, the progress made this year had been great, and gave them hope that they would be able to continue their work and build on this progress next year. He would work with the Presidents of 2008 during the intersessional period to that end.

Speakers, while noting that no consensus had been reached so far on the basis of the draft package put forward by the Six Presidents to establish a programme of work (documents L.1**, CRP.5* and CRP.6*), highlighted that the Conference was extremely close to reaching a consensus. Several speakers said it was critically important that they built consensus based on that package, and Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine and the United Kingdom – which would all be Presidents of the Conference in 2008 – affirmed their commitment to moving forward on that basis. Several Speakers underscored the priority issues for their Governments: the European Union, echoed by Italy and Japan, attached a clear priority to the negotiation of a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other explosive devices, as a means to strengthen disarmament and non-proliferation, and said that that constituted a priority that was ripe for negotiation. China said that the prevention of an arms race in outer space was its priority concern.

Pakistan's position was that equal, balanced treatment should be given to all the four core issues. It also suggested that to achieve consensus the Conference set itself the task of negotiating a non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally effectively verifiable fissile material treaty, which included the possibility of taking up the question of the scope of the treaty and existing stocks of fissile material. In Italy's view, the main concern holding up consensus on L.1 was the issue of verification of a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty, but it believed that those concerns could be overcome. The main issue was not verification as such, but whether verification should be a precondition for negotiations.

The Conference decided that the dates for the three parts of its 2008 session will be from 21 January to 28 March for the first part; 12 May to 27 June for the second part; and 28 July to 12 September for the third part.
Statements

FAYSAL KHABBAZ HAMOUI (Syria), President of the Conference on Disarmament, in a brief opening statement, bid farewell to Ambassador Carlo Trezza of Italy, who had joined the Conference in July 2003 and would be leaving Geneva soon to take up other important duties. Among other achievements, Ambassador Trezza had been appointed Coordinator by the Six Presidents on fissile materials. Ambassador Sayem Seyed Mohammad Kazem Sajjadpour of Iran was also leaving, and the Conference wished him all the best in the future. The President also welcomed the new Permanent Representative of Ireland to the United Nations Office at Geneva, on his own behalf and on behalf of the Conference, Ambassador Dáithí Ó Ceallaigh.

SAMIR LABIDI (Tunisia) congratulated the current President on his stewardship of the Conference, as well as for the atmosphere of dialogue that had prevailed during the course of their work. He also thanked the other Presidents of 2007, the Ambassadors of South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka and Switzerland, who had made praiseworthy efforts in favour of the work of the Conference. Tunisia would have the honour of presiding over the Conference in 2008, and Member States were assured of Tunisia's full determination to conduct, in cooperation with them, consultations during the intersessional period with a view to making useful progress towards the evolution of their work. That task would obviously be facilitated by the good cooperation of all, in particular the Presidents of 2007 and those who would be presiding over the Conference in 2008. Right now, informal contacts had indicated their willingness to act, in the context of preliminary consultations, in the spirit of cooperation and understanding. Tunisia assured all Members and colleagues of its willingness to ensure the best conditions for the success of the Conference on Disarmament in 2008.

MARIUS GRINIUS (Canada) presented a report of the Conference "Celebrating the Space Age: 50 Years of Space Technology, 40 Years of the Outer Space Treaty" on behalf of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), which had just been finalized this week, and requested that it be circulated as an official document of the Conference. The Conference – convened in Geneva from 2 to 4 April 2007 – was the latest in an annual series held by UNIDIR on the issue of space security, the peaceful uses of outer space and the prevention of an arms race in outer space. The Conference had been organized by UNIDIR in cooperation with the Governments of Canada, China, and Russia, and of the Secure World Foundation and the Simons Foundations. Over 100 representatives from United Nations Member States and observers from non-governmental organizations and civil society had participated.

SEYED MOHAMMAD KAZEM SAJJADPOUR (Iran), in a farewell statement, said it had been a great honour for him to work in the Conference, whose purpose was so dear to Iran. As the single multilateral negotiating forum for the international community, the Conference had made an undeniable contribution to international security. Looking at its glorious past should inject hope for the future. They had to work with hope and dedication to make this body more alive so that it could fulfil its mission of international peace and security. The Conference should be strengthened by all means. Today was the beginning of Ramadan, a month of hope. In that spirit, he would like to remain hopeful and optimistic for the future of the Conference.

JOSÉ JÚLIO PEREIRA GOMES (Portugal), speaking on behalf of the European Union, thanked the Presidents of 2007 for the groundbreaking work they had done. The European Union recognized the importance of the Conference as the single multilateral forum available for the international community for disarmament negotiations. The European Union was greatly encouraged by the constructive, structured and substantive discussions that had taken place during the first part of this year's session, and by the momentum created by those discussions. The Six Presidents (P6) efforts had clearly been taken up and brought to an even higher level this year, leading to the appointment of coordinators for seven items of the Conference agenda and culminating in the presentation of a Presidential Draft Decision (L.1) and two further documents (CRP.5 and CRP.6), to add clarity and to provide answers to questions raised by a few delegations with regard to document L.1. Those three documents had fostered their hope that finally the stalemate in the Conference could be overcome. It was regrettable that no consensus had been reached so far, and the European Union continued to urge the few remaining Member States of the Conference to go along with the consensus on the basis of the documents on the table.

The European Union, while guided by the consideration that progress could be best achieved through a combination of prioritizing and a just and meaningful consideration of the concerns of all, recognized that some issues were riper for negotiation than others. The European Union attached a clear priority to the negotiation of a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other explosive devices, as a means to strengthen disarmament and non-proliferation. That constituted a priority that was ripe for negotiation. The European Union also recalled its attachment to the follow-up of the enlargement process of the Conference, and in particular with regard to members of the European Union not yet members of the Conference and which had submitted a request for admission.

CARLO TREZZA (Italy), in a farewell statement, noted that, for the past 10 years, the work on the Conference had been dedicated to the preliminary search for a compromise on the diverging priorities of its members – a negotiation on negotiations. He then gave a brief history of the attempts to overcome the impasse, including the five Ambassadors (A5) Proposal, to obtain a compromise based on seven items; the promotion of informal discussions on specific issues, and the focus on four "core issues"; the decision to coordinate work among the Six Presidents in the so-called P6 Formula; the appointment of "Friends of the President" which complemented vertically – on specific subjects – the horizontal coordination established among Presidents; and the further development of the latter this year through the appointment of seven Coordinators. Finally, the end result of those efforts over the past four years had been the presentation of the P6 Proposal, enshrined in document L.1. It was realistic, balanced and the best possible compromise to bring the Conference back to work.

But being close to consensus was not sufficient. A few countries still voiced concerns about the document and those concerns had to be addressed. In Italy's view, the main concern was one of verification of a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty. Italy believed that those concerns could be overcome. It should be clear to capitals that the main issue was not verification as such, but whether verification should be a precondition for negotiations. In discussions held on 6 March this year, no delegation appeared to have ruled out the principle of verifiability per se, but rather had wondered about its feasibility and effectiveness, including from the point of view of costs. By accepting L.1 delegations did not rule anything out. The obstacle was surmountable and its solution could provide a key to a breakthrough. It was time to seize the opportunity offered by L.1.

SUMIO TARUI (Japan) said that, even without being able to agree on a programme of work, the Conference had still carried out significant discussions on substance in the first part of the current session through the joint initiative of the P6. Because there were many informal meetings, not all their discussions were on record; nevertheless the conduct of focused, substantial debates covering all the seven agenda items under the able guidance of the Coordinators should be given due recognition. In particular, that was true of the focused debate on the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT). As had repeatedly been asserted, an FMCT was a crucial measure for nuclear disarmament and the next logical step that the current Conference on Disarmament should take. In the discussions on an FMCT during the first part of the current session, the Conference had engaged in various debates without preconditions, which should be natural for treaty negotiations, surrounding the core concepts of a prohibition of the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons purposes, including stocks and verification. Thus, there was nothing preventing them for commencing negotiations without preconditions.

Even though it was a fact that no consensus existed on the draft package so far (based on documents L.1, CRP.5 and CRP.6), it was also indeed a fact that they were extremely close to reaching a consensus. It was critically important that they did not render naught this year's outcomes, but built consensus based on the proposal put forward by the 2007 Presidents. Japan pledged its utmost support to that effort.

GLAUDINE MTSHALI (South Africa), speaking on behalf of the Group of 21, extended the Group's appreciation to the President for his hard work and in particular his tireless efforts that had facilitated the adoption of the Conference's annual report to the General Assembly. The Group of 21 also wished to place on record its appreciation for the work of the other members of the P6, and to thank the seven Coordinators for 2007 for their contribution. The Group of 21 looked forward to a productive 2008 session of the Conference and stood ready to contribute to its success.

ANTON VASILIEV (Russian Federation) thanked the Syrian Presidency, which had fulfilled a difficult and delicate mission successfully, leading to the adoption of the annual report of the Conference. Russia also thanked all the other members of the P6 for 2007 and the seven Coordinators. Russia expressed its appreciation to UNIDIR for preparing the summary of the traditional spring conference on the issue of security in space. Security in space was a priority for Russia in the Conference on Disarmament, and Russia was sure that the important ideas and proposals reflected in the report before the Conference would be useful when considering this topic next year. To do that, however, implied coming to terms on a programme of work, and it was hoped that that could be done early in 2008.

CARLOS ANTONIO DA ROCHA PARANHOS (Brazil) said that, despite hopes raised at the beginning of the session to end the longstanding stalemate and move towards a programme of work, they had not been able to find the path towards consensus. After four years covering the work of the Conference, he could not help but feel frustration at the deadlock. Brazil had always shown a strong commitment and spirit of flexibility in trying to accommodate every delegation's interests and concerns. Brazil had carefully considered and supported several proposals put forward in this forum, notably the Amorim Proposal, the A5 Proposal, and more recently, the P6 Proposal, in an effort to see the CD devote itself to substantive work and contribute to a more peaceful and safer world.

Despite the lack of consensus, in Brazil's view, this had been a productive year in which everyone had dedicated a considerable amount of effort, time, attention and energy in order to move in the right direction. The structured debates conducted by the Coordinators had produced good results. The general debates had also been very constructive and had promoted a deeper and broader understanding of national policies and interests. They must not let that work be lost. They owed it to themselves to build upon the foundation laid this year in 2008.

AHMET ÜZÜMCÜ (Turkey) thanked the President and his predecessors for the tremendous efforts made this year to bring the Conference back to substantive work. Those efforts had shown creativity and innovation. In spite of that, they still had not reached consensus. Turkey believed that all Members should do their utmost to enable this forum to fulfil its functions. Turkey would be taking over the Presidency next year and wished to echo what Tunisia had said in that it would spare no efforts to reach a consensus. Multilateralism would prevail.

JOHN DUNCAN (United Kingdom) joined the European Union and fellow 2008 Presidents in congratulating the current 2007 Presidents. It had been a significant year in the Conference, building on the platform of the P6 initiative. This year's P6 had worked assiduously to build consensus on a programme of work, setting a sterling example for those to follow. The incoming Presidents had a key document to enable the Conference to meet the ambitions of its predecessors.

CHANG DONG-HEE (Republic of Korea) said the Republic of Korea set a high value on the successful and useful P6 system established last year. Moreover, the appointment of Coordinators had been an important tool for deepening understanding of the issues and building consensus. Unfortunately, for another year, the Conference had not been able to achieve agreement. The Republic of Korea welcomed the commitment and determination expressed by Tunisia and Turkey, the incoming Presidents, and bid farewell to the two Ambassadors who were leaving the Conference today.

MASOOD KHAN (Pakistan) said that, in the past three years the Conference on Disarmament had witnessed increased activity and focus. However, the goal of reaching consensus had not been achieved. The 2008 session should make earnest efforts to reach consensus on a balanced and comprehensive programme of work. Document CD/2007/L.1 had raised hopes this year. Throughout the session, Pakistan had said that it had serious and substantive concerns. They had been ready to table amendments to L.1 since May 2007, but had refrained from doing so to allow for completion of their own interdepartmental review process and consultations with Conference Members. Now Pakistan's review process was complete, and they needed to intensify consultations to reach consensus.

Pakistan said the decade-long stalemate in the Conference had been caused by attempts to scupper the Shannon Mandate, which had enjoyed universal adherence, and to remove from the table the A5 and other proposals which had received near universal support and had presented a good basis for compromise. Pakistan believed that the Conference should make a sure-footed beginning for substantive work. To do that it should set itself the task of negotiating a non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally effectively verifiable fissile material treaty (FMT); an FMT negotiation mandate should distinctly recognize the possibility of taking up the question of the scope of the treaty and the existing stocks of fissile material; equal, balanced treatment should be given to all the four core issues; and Ad Hoc Committees, as provided for in the Conference's rules of procedure, should conduct negotiations. Pakistan also wished to note that, while P6 coordination had played an important role in generating activity in the Conference, it remained an informal arrangement. P6 Proposals were subject to open negotiations and concurrence of all members. Their initiatives were not a fait accompli.

CHENG JINGYE (China) said that the annual report just adopted accurately reflected the work of the Conference over the past year. China thanked the Six Presidents and the Coordinators for the work over the past year. China appreciated the submission by Canada of the report of the outer space conference held by UNIDIR, which could be very useful in the Conference's work in this area. The prevention of an arms race in outer space was China's priority concern in the Conference on Disarmament. China hoped the Conference could get back to substantive work so that they could begin work on this important item at an early date.

YEHVEN BERSHEDA (Ukraine) speaking not just as a member, but also as one of the Six Presidents of 2008, said Ukraine was determined to support the efforts made in 2007. The role of the President could be particularly difficult. Ukraine associated itself with those who had made a positive appraisal of the work of this year's P6 and its scope. The P6 for 2008 was already endeavouring to strike the necessary cooperation to perform its work next year. Ukraine, like many other countries, supported document L.1, and it was hoped that it could provide the basis for joint progress next year. Ukraine reaffirmed that the views of all countries had to be respected in discussions on that document.

FAYSAL KHABBAZ HAMOUI (Syria), President of the Conference on Disarmament, in closing remarks, thanked delegations for their cooperation and the positive spirit that had prevailed in discussions on the annual report of the Conference. That had allowed for the report to accurately reflect the work of the Conference this year. In particular, the report reflected the desire of Member States to continue efforts towards a return of the Conference to the substantive work for which it had been created.

Although all had made sincere efforts, it had still not been possible to adopt a programme of work which would have enabled the start of serious negotiations on the topics of concern to the Conference, in particular ridding the world of nuclear weapon. However, the progress made this year had been great, and gave them hope that they would be able to continue their work and build on this progress next year. Mr. Khabbaz Hamoui said he would work with the Presidents of 2008 during the intersessional period to that end. Syria would work towards a solution to the problem both within the Conference on Disarmament, as well as in other forums.

In conclusion, Mr. Khabbaz Hamoui expressed his thanks to all delegations that had contributed positively and constructively to the work of the Conference, as well as the Presidents of 2007 who had extended all manner of support, wisdom and flexibility. The P6 was an extremely important format and useful for the work of the Conference. He also thanked the seven Coordinators for their efforts, and the secretariat, in particular to the Secretary-General of the Conference, Sergei Ordzhonikidze.