ADOPTION OF THE PROGRAMME OF WORK OF THE CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT

At its plenary meeting today, under the Presidency of Ambassador Jazaïry (Algeria), the Conference on Disarmament adopted, by consensus, its Programme of Work for 2009. This action has ended over ten years of efforts to resume the substantive work of the Conference, which came to a hold in 1999 when it was not able to re-establish two Ad Hoc Committees which in 1998 dealt with the negative security assurances and with the prohibition of the production of fissile material for weapons purposes.

The adoption of the Programme of Work was possible thanks to the unprecedented cooperation by all groups of Member States of the Conference, and diplomatic efforts of the current, as well as other Presidents of the Conference for its 2009 session, both in Geneva and in many capitals. The persistent moral and diplomatic support given by the Secretary-General of the United Nations to the Conference, and particularly his visit and address to the Conference a week ago were instrumental in breaking the stalemate.

The Programme of Work provides for the establishment of four Working Groups: a Working Group to negotiate a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices, on the basis of the document CD/1299 of 24 March 1995 and the mandate contained therein (also known as the Shannon Report); and three other Working Groups to: (1) to exchange views and information on practical steps for progressive and systematic efforts to reduce nuclear weapons with the ultimate goal of their elimination; (2) to discuss substantively, without limitation, all issues related to the prevention of an arms race in outer space; and (3) to discuss substantively, without limitation, with a view to elaborating recommendations dealing with all aspects of negative security assurances, not excluding those related to an internationally legally binding instrument.

Moreover, the Programme of Work provides for the appointment of three Special Coordinators to seek the views of Members of the Conference on the most appropriate way to deal with: (1) new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons, particularly, radiological weapons; (2) comprehensive programme of disarmament; and (3) transparency in armaments.

The decision taken today is a culmination of efforts aimed at breaking the deadlock over the Programme of work, which has been considerably intensified since 2006 with the establishment of a new mechanism aimed at enhancing the role of the successive Presidents of the Conference in forging consensus. This mechanism, called P-6, although informal, led to the series of substantive debates on all items on the CD agenda, on the basis of which a number of proposals on the programme of work were drafted, culminating with CD/1863, which was adopted today.


For use of information media; not an official record

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