CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT HOLDS FIRST PLENARY UNDER THE PRESIDENCY OF VENEZUELA
The Conference on Disarmament this morning held its first plenary meeting under the presidency of Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), during which it discussed the minimum elements that a programme of work should contain.
The President of the Conference on Disarmament, Ambassador Jorge Valero of Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of), said it was an honour for Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) to hold the presidency during the period from 27 May to 23 June 2019. Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) would consult, bilaterally and multilaterally, with all the delegations and especially with the coordinators of the 2018 subsidiary bodies, and would give particular attention to efforts to develop a balanced and inclusive programme of work.
Pakistan said it remained committed to a smooth functioning of the Conference on Disarmament and regretted that some Member States had chosen to absent themselves from this chamber for reasons that were not relevant to it. Syrian Arab Republic was confident that Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) would steer the Conference to success during its presidency. Zimbabwe was concerned about the delay in adopting a programme of work and welcomed the President’s intention to build on previous work, and to consult and build consensus on the adoption of such a programme. There was still time to engage in deliberations and establish a programme of work during the 2019 session, stressed the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and pledged its support to the efforts of the presidency in this direction.
India endorsed the approach presented by the President in establishing a programme of work and thanked the presidencies of Ukraine and the United Kingdom for their efforts. Russia objected to the unnecessary and artificial politicization of the Conference on Disarmament and turning it into a platform to settle relations between States on matters that were not relevant to its work. Iran urged the immediate resumption of efforts towards the adoption of a programme of work and underlined that inclusiveness and collective work were a matter of pride in the Conference. South Africa said it was ready to work towards a compromise and a world without nuclear weapons and was concerned about actions that showed a lack of respect for the rules of procedure, the politicization of the Conference, and the introduction of issues that fell outside of its scope and the mandate. Algeria stressed that the Conference must focus on those areas of convergence that would lead to progress on agenda items and avoid any deviation from that agenda.
China welcomed the President’s intention to focus on the adoption of a programme of work on the basis of constructive efforts by the presidencies of Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Mexico took positive note of the priorities of the Venezuelan presidency and stressed that all debates must focus on finding a way to move away from stagnation and to turn deliberations into negotiations. Viet Nam said it was looking forward to receiving the draft proposal to enable the Conference to consult and deliberate towards the adoption of a balanced programme of work. Indonesia welcomed the intention to resume the discussions on the adoption of a programme of work and stressed the importance of not reinventing the wheel but building on previous efforts. The Netherlands thanked the presidency for sharing its schedule of activities and asked how it would build on the basis of the work conducted so far by the presidencies of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States.
Myanmar welcomed the intended approach of the new presidency towards moving the work in the Conference forward and joined others in calling for the non-politicization of its work. Germany said that the prior presidencies had attempted to make progress and echoed other delegations on the need to build on this work. France stressed that the objective must be a balanced and consensual programme of work that built on the efforts of the previous presidencies. Egypt emphasized that consensus must be the basis of the work in the Conference and welcomed the work plan towards the adoption of a programme of work. Cuba stressed that rules of procedure and multilateralism were the essential basis for work in the Conference and was concerned about unilateralism and actions by some States which were seeking to politicize its work.
The next plenary meeting of the Conference on Disarmament will be communicated at a later date.
Statements
JORGE VALERO, President of the Conference on Disarmament and Permanent Representative of Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said it was an honour for Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) to hold the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament during the period from 27 May to 23 June 2019, and reiterated confidence in this body which was the only multilateral negotiating forum for disarmament treaties. The President recognized serious work undertaken this year, particularly by Ukraine and the United Kingdom, and stressed that the Conference must rise to the expectations that the international community had placed in it since its establishment in 1979; it was essential to eliminate all weapons of mass destruction, and in particular nuclear weapons. For this, there must be confidence and respect among all States, and the threat of war must vanish. Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) would conduct its presidency in accordance with the rules of procedure and would make every effort to ensure in this forum a constructive and inclusive approach. Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) would consult, bilaterally and multilaterally, with all the delegations and especially with the coordinators of the 2018 subsidiary bodies, and would give particular attention to efforts to develop a balanced and inclusive programme of work. The President invited the delegations to discuss minimum elements that a programme of work should contain.
Pakistan remained committed to a smooth functioning of the Conference on Disarmament and regretted that some Member States had chosen to absent themselves from this chamber for reasons that were not relevant to it. The Conference should not become a victim of posturing and politicking on issues not related to its substantive agenda items. Pakistan said that on 22 May, Pakistan and Russia had signed a joint statement on “no first placement of weapons in outer space”, which was a practical manifestation of Pakistan’s commitment to this goal. Pakistan encouraged other responsible space-faring nations to follow this example, especially in the light of the use of outer space by an increasing number of States, while the risks of its weaponization threatened the long-term sustainability of peaceful activities.
Syrian Arab Republic was confident that Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) would steer the Conference to success during its presidency and hoped that the Conference would focus on the agenda adopted at the beginning of 2019. It was a responsibility of the presidency to hold discussions on a programme of work; this had not happened during the previous presidency held by the United States, which had dedicated its presidency to promote its national agenda, had unilaterally imposed discussions that were not relevant to the agenda and mandate of the Conference, and had exploited the position to launch attacks on other States. The world was facing growing and increasing challenges, including the unilateral position to resort to use of force in violation of rules that governed international relations, and using terrorism to interfere in the internal affairs of States. Bearing in mind the complexities of the international situation, the Syrian Arab Republic believed in this Conference and its revival, and in putting the question of disarmament at its heart.
Zimbabwe hoped that the presidency of the Conference by Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) would be crowned by success and recognized the work of the United States’ presidency for steering the work of the Conference. Zimbabwe was concerned that no agreement had been reached so for on adopting a programme of work and welcomed the President’s intention to continue to build on previous work, and to consult and build consensus on the adoption of such a programme. The Conference on Disarmament was clearly off course and drifting away from its core mandate; now was the time to address this institutional drift, including by all Member States refraining from politicizing any aspect of its work.
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was very pleased to see Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) holding the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament and expressed confidence in its professional guidance in breaking the long-standing stalemate. There had been several attempts in 2019 to agree on a programme of work, but reaching consensus was not possible due to diverse and contrasting views among Member States. There was still time to engage in deliberations and establish a programme of work during the session, stressed the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, and pledged its support to the efforts of the presidency in this direction.
India endorsed the approach presented by the President of the Conference on Disarmament in establishing a programme of work and thanked the presidencies of Ukraine and the United Kingdom for their efforts to this end. During this year, the Conference had made progress on a number of issues, India said and stressed that it was possible to continue that work and effectively establish the subsidiary bodies.
Russia objected to the unnecessary and artificial politicization of the Conference on Disarmament and turning it into a platform to settle relations between States on matters that were not relevant to its work. Any act that introduced political turbulence into the work of the Conference introduced doubt and prevented it from achieving its objectives and implementing its mandate. The actions by the United States and the Lima Group would deepen the divide in the Conference, completely disorganize its work, and cause the 2019 session to fail. Russia called for a speedy commencement of negotiations and recalled the joint statement in support of the Conference on Disarmament which Belarus had delivered at the beginning of the 2019 session, which a considerable number of Member States had signed up to.
Iran assured the President of its full support and stressed the critical role of the Conference as the only multilateral forum for disarmament. Iran urged the immediate resumption of efforts on the adoption of a programme of work and underlined that inclusiveness and collective work were a matter of pride in the Conference. Those leaving the meeting were hurting that pride and were exercising a destructive approach to multilateralism. It was high time to focus on finding communalities and what was realistic and feasible in the 2019 session.
South Africa regretted the continuing impasse in the Conference on Disarmament which would seriously affect its standing. South Africa was committed to a functioning Conference on Disarmament and was committed to working towards breaking the impasse and building confidence. South Africa was ready to work towards a compromise and a world without nuclear weapons, and was concerned about actions that showed a lack of respect for the rules of procedure, the politicization of the Conference, and the introduction of issues that fell outside of its scope and the mandate.
Algeria was convinced that the presidency of Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) would build on the work of its predecessor towards adopting a consensual and balanced programme of work. To breathe new life into the Conference on Disarmament, it must focus on those areas of convergence that would lead to progress on agenda items and avoid any deviation from that agenda. Algeria stood ready to constructively support the initiatives to relaunch the work of the Conference on Disarmament.
China welcomed the President’s intention to focus on the adoption of a programme of work on the basis of constructive efforts by the presidencies of Ukraine and the United Kingdom. China stood ready to work with all delegations to promote the professionalism and credibility of the Conference on Disarmament, and to resume its substantive work.
Mexico reassured the presidency of its support based on the rules of procedure and commended the work of the previous presidencies by Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Mexico took positive note of the priorities of the Venezuelan presidency and stressed that all debates must focus on finding a way to move away from stagnation and to turn deliberations into negotiations. Mexico reiterated the importance of comprehensively complying with the rules of procedure of the Conference on Disarmament and avoid bringing in issues that fell outside of its mandate.
Viet Nam stressed its strong commitment to the Conference on Disarmament as a single multilateral forum for disarmament issues and highly appreciated the determination of the Presidency of Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) to find a way forward towards adopting a programme of work. Viet Nam was looking forward to receiving the draft proposal on a programme of work to enable the Conference to consult and deliberate towards the adoption of a balanced programme of work.
Indonesia congratulated Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) on the assumption of the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament and recognized the work of the United States in steering the work of the Conference during its presidency. Indonesia welcomed the intention to resume work on adopting a programme of work and stressed the importance of not reinventing the wheel but building on previous efforts during the 2019 session. Indonesia urged all Member States to respect the rules of procedure and the office of the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament.
Netherlands thanked the presidency for sharing its schedule of activities and asked whether Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) would build on the basis of the work conducted so far by the presidencies of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. The President had said he would circulate a proposal on Thursday, 30 May, but this was a holiday for Germany and for Switzerland. Would the President consider changing that date?
JORGE VALERO, President of the Conference on Disarmament and Permanent Representative of Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) to the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that the contributions from previous presidencies would be built upon to provide continuity towards a comprehensive programme of work.
Myanmar welcomed the intended approach of the new presidency towards moving forward the work in the Conference on Disarmament and joined others in calling for the non-politicization of its work. Myanmar looked forward to working actively with the presidency and other delegations.
Germany said that the prior presidencies of the Conference on Disarmament had attempted to make progress and echoed other delegations on the need to build on this work, particularly by the presidencies of Ukraine and the United Kingdom. Concerning the President’s plan for consultations, Thursday, 30 May, was also a public holiday in Germany. Could the President consult with the Secretariat on switching the date for that plenary?
A member of the Secretariat of the Conference on Disarmament said that 30 May was not an official United Nations holiday and confirmed that the Secretariat and the United Nations would be open for business.
France remained deeply committed to the Conference on Disarmament and its mandate of negotiating disarmament treaties and commended the objective of the presidency to resume discussions on a programme of work. The objective must be a balanced and consensual programme of work which should build on the work of the presidencies of Ukraine, the United Kingdom, and the United States. France echoed the request by Germany and the Netherlands to postpone the discussions planned for 30 May which was a holiday in a number of countries.
Egypt emphasized that consensus must be the basis of the work in the Conference on Disarmament and welcomed the work plan towards the adoption of a programme of work that Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) had outlined.
Cuba stressed that rules of procedure and multilateralism were the essential basis for the work in the Conference on Disarmament and said that all peace loving countries were committed to disarmament and the work of the Conference. Cuba was concerned about unilateralism and actions by some States which were seeking to politicize the work of the Conference, and expressed its full support for the Venezuelan presidency.
JORGE VALERO, President of the Conference on Disarmament and Permanent Representative of Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) to the United Nations Office at Geneva, outlined the roadmap and work plan for the upcoming period and said that the presidency had drawn on the work of subsidiary bodies established in 2018. The contributions by the previous presidencies of the Conference on Disarmament would be taken into account, said the President and reaffirmed that Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of) would exercise its presidency with full transparency and a full sense of responsibility.
For use of the information media; not an official record
DC/19/27E