Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament: Political Will on the Part of All Members Is Fundamental to Agreement on a Programme of Work
Conference on Disarmament Holds First Plenary of its 2022 Session
The Conference on Disarmament today held the first plenary of its 2022 session, hearing addresses by Tatiana Valovaya, the Secretary-General of the Conference, its President and a number of States.
Ms. Valovaya said that for years, the international community had witnessed rising global tensions among key players, growing distrust, arms competition, the politicisation of disarmament fora and an overall erosion of the disarmament architecture. The current continued geopolitical tensions made multilateralism and diplomacy all the more essential. In fact, the complex security challenges in today’s world left no alternative to multilateralism.
Ms. Valovaya urged all Conference on Disarmament members to engage in good faith in constructive dialogue that would lead the Conference forward in the consideration of its core agenda items. Political will on the part of all members was fundamental to agreement on a programme of work, and eventual negotiations on disarmament instruments, which remained the raison d’être of the Conference.
Ambassador Li Song of China, speaking as the President of the Conference on Disarmament as well the Chinese Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs, read out a message from Wang Yi, State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China, which he said testified to the confidence and support that China placed on the Conference.
Ambassador Li said the work of the Conference should fully reflect the reality of the international security landscape in all its dimensions. The Conference should move with the times and innovate its work, while remaining faithful to its historic mandate. The Conference was not an arena for big powers competition and confrontation or a tool for big powers to bully smaller ones. In recent years, the Conference had been severely swayed and hampered by politicisation, which had also seriously eroded trust and cooperation among delegations, and this was one of the important causes of the current stalemate. The Conference should continue its efforts to reach a balanced and comprehensive programme of work. Mr. Li said he looked forward to hearing the ideas of all delegations on issues facing the Conference, especially on the programme of work.
Speaking in the plenary were Mongolia on behalf of the Group of 21, France on behalf of the European Union, France as the coordinator of the P-5 process, Morocco, Slovakia, Italy, Colombia, Tunisia, Algeria, Ecuador, France, Egypt, Pakistan, Russian Federation, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Indonesia.
India and Pakistan spoke in right of reply.
The next plenary of the Conference on Disarmament will be held at 10 a.m. on Thursday, 27 January, to continue to hear general statements as well as to discuss the list of countries that have asked to participate in the 2022 session of the Conference as observers.
Opening Remarks by the President of the Conference on Disarmament
Ambassador LI SONG of China (Disarmament), President of the Conference on Disarmament, said this morning, the Conference would hear a statement from Tatiana Valovaya, Secretary-General of the Conference and the personal representative of the Secretary-General of the United Nations to the Conference, followed by his own statement as President of the Conference. He would then give the floor to delegates. Ambassador Li said requests from States not-member of the Conference to participate as observers during the 2022 session of the Conference would be considered at the next plenary on Thursday, 27 at 10 a.m.
Statement by the Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament
TATIANA VALOVAYA, Secretary-General of the Conference on Disarmament and Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, said that for years, the international community had witnessed rising global tensions among key players, growing distrust, arms competition, the politicisation of disarmament fora and an overall erosion of the disarmament architecture. The current continued geopolitical tensions made multilateralism and diplomacy all the more essential. In fact, the complex security challenges in today’s world left no alternative to multilateralism.
All Conference on Disarmament Member States bore equal responsibility to begin rebuilding trust and confidence in this august body. Ms. Valovaya urged all Conference on Disarmament members to engage in good faith in constructive dialogue that would lead the Conference forward in the consideration of its core agenda items. Political will on the part of all members was fundamental to agreement on a programme of work, and eventual negotiations on disarmament instruments, which remained the raison d’être of this Conference.
In concluding, Ms. Valovaya stressed again the importance of inclusivity in multilateralism. She noted that it was important to the credibility of the Conference and to its deliberations that all States that wished to be a part of its proceedings be given a seat at the table as observers. Looking ahead, this year would see the Review Conferences of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and of the Biological Weapons Convention. She hoped that Conference members would take advantage of the opportunity that the Conference provided as a venue to rebuild a constructive atmosphere and to hold relevant discussions ahead of these important milestones.
Statement by the President of the Conference on Disarmament
Ambassador LI SONG of China (Disarmament), President of the Conference on Disarmament, speaking as the President of the Conference on Disarmament as well the Chinese Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs, read out a message from Wang Yi, State Councillor and Foreign Minister of China, which stated that traditional security threats and emerging security challenges were intertwined. International arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation systems stood at a critical crossroads. The international community needed to vigorously advocate peace, development, equity, justice, democracy and freedom. As the sole multilateral disarmament negotiating forum, the Conference on Disarmament had achieved important outcomes and its status as an important platform for global security governance had become more prominent. China called on all Member States of the Conference to have in-depth discussions on the traditional agenda items and emerging challenges under the principle of mutual respect and consensus and to make efforts to revitalise the Conference.
Ambassador Li said Mr. Wang’s message testified to the confidence and support that China placed on the Conference. As the Conference’s first President this year, he would do his utmost to cooperate with other P-6 + 2 colleagues to bring their work forward. The work of the Conference should fully reflect the reality of the international security landscape in all its dimensions. The Conference should move with the times and innovate its work, while remaining faithful to its historic mandate. The Conference must face fresh problems and challenges in the field of international security brought by new and emerging technologies, and delegations needed to explore preventive controls and measures in arms control diplomacy. The work of the Conference should be brought back to a healthy and professional state. The Conference was not an arena for big powers competition and confrontation or a tool for big powers to bully smaller ones. It should be a major platform for pursuing genuine multilateralism and advancing global security governance. All members of the Conference, regardless of their size, were equal and should respect each other and the legitimate security concerns and interest of each and every State needed to be fully taken into account.
In recent years, the Conference had been severely swayed and hampered by politicisation, which had also seriously eroded trust and cooperation among delegations, and this was one of the important causes of the current stalemate. The Conference should continue its efforts to reach a balanced and comprehensive programme of work. The failure of the Conference to start negotiations in recent years was caused in essence by the growing complication of the global strategic and security situation, which had had a deep impact on the Conference. The rules of procedure of the Conference or its work methods should not be blamed.
In concluding, Mr. Li he looked forward to hearing the ideas of all delegations on issues facing the Conference, especially on the programme of work. He would also undertake active and bilateral consultations with all delegations. He would then proceed, based on this, to jointly produce with other P-6 + 2 colleagues plans for the Conference’s discussion and eventual decision. He hoped the Conference members could demonstrate a greater sense of unity and display greater courage and strength in seeking to revive and revitalise the Conference. He and his team would make fresh attempts to that end.
Statements
Mongolia , speaking on behalf of the Group of 21, said the Group of 21 reaffirmed the absolute validity of multilateral diplomacy in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation, and expressed its determination to promote multilateralism as the core principle of negotiations in these areas. The Group of 21 recognised that the Conference on Disarmament was the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum and emphasised the importance of preserving it by strengthening its nature, role and mandate. The Group underscored the need for redoubling of efforts aimed at reinforcing and revitalising the Conference and preserving its credibility through the resumption of substantive work, including, inter alia, negotiations on nuclear disarmament. The Group of 21 reiterated the urgency for the Conference to execute its mandate and to adopt and implement a balanced and comprehensive programme of work on the basis of its agenda, while taking into account the security interests of all States and dealing with, inter alia, the core issues, particularly nuclear disarmament, in accordance with the rules of procedure, including the rule of consensus.
France , speaking on behalf of the European Union, said the European Union started this year’s session with high hopes for the Conference to resume its substantive work. Strong political will, increased trust and flexibility were urgently required from all members of the Conference if they were to break the impasse and bring it back on track. The European Union regretted that the Review Conference on the Treaty on Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons had yet again been unavoidably postponed due to the current pandemic situation, and continued to promote a positive and substantive outcome of this Conference. The European Union welcomed the agreement reached by the United States and the Russian Federation to extend the New Start Treaty for an additional five years. The European Union stressed the need to preserve and further advance arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation processes, encouraged the two largest nuclear powers to seek further reductions of their arsenals, and called on China to contribute to these processes.
The Conference on Disarmament remained the single multilateral disarmament negotiating body and its continued relevance and effective functioning was of utmost importance for the European Union. The Conference must urgently fulfil its crucial function to negotiate multilateral disarmament treaties and elaborate other instruments and norms. The European Union was concerned that the Conference continued to be deadlocked. The European Union’s long-standing priority in the Conference was to immediately commence negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons or other explosive devices.
The European Union reiterated its commitment to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and expressed its concern at Iran’s continued actions inconsistent with it, including its ballistic missile activity. The European Union was seriously concerned that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea continued to pursue its illegal weapons programmes and condemned steps taken by that country to enhance its nuclear weapons and missile capabilities, including the recent repeated launches of new types of missiles and the resumption of illegal activities of some nuclear facilities.
France , speaking on behalf of the P-5 process, said France was the coordinator of the so-called "P-5" format, which brought together the five nuclear-weapon States under the Non-Proliferation Treaty: China, the United States, the United Kingdom, the Russian Federation, and France. France had had the honour of coordinating the P5 process over the past 18 months in preparation for the tenth Nuclear Non-Proliferation Weapons Treaty Review Conference. The five countries reaffirmed their enduring commitment to the Treaty across all three pillars, and their unconditional support for its universalisation. The five countries regretted the further postponement of the Review Conference due to the public health situation and hoped that it could be held as soon as possible in the best possible conditions. France had organised in Paris the P-5 Conference at the level of "principals", which allowed for in-depth exchanges on issues related to the three pillars and to continue the work outlined in the "P-5 roadmap". The Paris Conference provided the five countries with an opportunity to have a fruitful dialogue with the President-designate and the Treaty Bureau, as well as with representatives of non-nuclear-weapon States and civil society. The speaker read out the joint communiqué issued by the five countries.
Morocco asked if the Conference on Disarmament was still the indispensable body that the international community could not do without, answering that yes it was as the international context remained volatile and uncertain. The COVID-19 pandemic had led to the deepening and wide dissemination of crises around the world. The global situation today prompted the Conference on Disarmament to constructive dialogue and a real commitment to overcome all differences. Morocco hoped that a balanced programme of work could be adopted by the Conference this year as a pressing concern.
Slovakia said the international security environment had been characterised by continued tensions and mistrust, particularly in the field of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation. Renewed efforts were necessary to improve international security. Slovakia welcomed the extension of the New Start Treaty, and the developments within the P-5 process on the Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference, and hoped that they could bring new energy to the work of the Conference on Disarmament. The Conference was the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum of the international community and had an indispensable role towards international peace and security. It was up to the Conference Member States, their flexibility and political will, to decide whether the Conference would be able to fulfil its mandate with tangible results.
Slovakia renewed its commitment to the Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty and to the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty. The long-standing priority of Slovakia in the Conference on Disarmament was the immediate commencement of negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty, which was mature enough and ripe for negotiations. Pending its entry into force, all States concerned should declare and uphold a moratorium on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapon or other weapons. Slovakia was committed to the prevention of an arms race in outer space. Noting the decades-long deadlock in the Conference and the absence of consensus on negotiations, Slovakia believed the Conference should try to revitalise its substantive work and supported advancing this by discussions in subsidiary bodies. The Conference could also elaborate guidelines and norms.
Italy noted that while the Conference was convened here, all around the world –including not very far from where they were seated – tensions were rising and geopolitical rivalry increasing. In many areas of the world, the pandemic had even exacerbated conflicts. Under these circumstances, Italy believed that a revival of the Conference on Disarmament was needed and urgent, as disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control played a crucial role in the security landscape. The long impasse in the Conference's work was regrettable, but Italy remained convinced that the Conference was an indispensable and unique body in the toolbox of the disarmament community, even though its potential remained clearly unfulfilled nowadays. Pending agreement on negotiations to start – and with the view to create the conditions for those negotiations to start – the international community should use this platform to enhance dialogue and transparency and to overcome ambiguity and misperceptions that made the global atmosphere increasingly polarised and more confrontational than collaborative.
Italy reaffirmed its firm commitment to disarmament and international security, in particular sharing the goal of a peaceful and secure world free of nuclear weapons, and believed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, with its three mutually reinforcing pillars, remained the cornerstone of the global non- proliferation regime. Italy welcomed the joint statement of the five nuclear-weapon States on preventing nuclear war and avoiding arms races. An important step in this direction should be the prompt entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Italy supported the full implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action and was concerned by Iran’s disengagement from it. Italy also condemned the multiple ballistic missiles launched by Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the latest a few days ago. Today more than ever, the world faced the concrete risk of the marginalisation of the Conference, and ultimately of its irrelevance. Its members needed to remember the special responsibility that they bore and the urgency to act with determination.
Colombia said Colombia was honoured that it would be one of the six Presidents of the Conference on Disarmament this year. The collaborative way of working provided consistency and continuity to the work of the Conference as well as a common approach that Colombia hoped could be reached to the global challenges. Colombia hoped that this year the Conference could avoid politicising its work and find a productive way forward. The current global context did not make it easy to find a meeting point. Colombia hoped that during the session, the Conference would be able to have substantive debates during which States could share their positions and reflect on the future of the Conference.
Tunisia said that developments, including the postponement of the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, meant that the Conference on Disarmament had more responsibility in reaching tangible results that served the expectations of the international community in non-proliferation and disarmament. Tunisia, during its 2020-2021 membership of the Security Council, had launched a number of initiatives to contribute actively to international peace and security, including the resolution to the Security Council on international solidarity and declaring a ceasefire to face the threats of COVID-19, which was adopted in July 2020. The continued existence of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle Est and their means of delivery continued to be a serious threat to security and stability, and exacerbated terrorist threats. The creation of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East was urgently needed. Tunisia at the same time continued to support technical uses of nuclear, radiological, chemical and biological technologies and the importance of technical cooperation in this field for the sake of sustainable development.
Algeria said Algeria supported multilateralism, which should be backed by political will and the necessary atmosphere to ensure progress in the work of the Conference, which had been marked by different events in the past 20-odd years. There was an absolute need for the Conference on Disarmament to implement its mandate to negotiate and to work to ensure that future generations were safe. The Conference had marked the history of the world through its success achieved in negotiating international instruments. In the current context, it was crucial that the Conference responded to the expectations. The Conference needed to preserve its credibility that was being threated and should strengthen its capacities by giving priorities to the general interest, while also taking into account national interests.
It was necessary for the Conference to have sufficient time to deal with questions of substance in an organised manner. To that end, they needed to have a two-stage approach by making a distinction between the elaboration of a conceptional framework of a programme of work that created the general foundation for their work on the main agenda items, and the specific work that focused on the details that they had to discuss, including in potential subsidiary bodies. It would be good to have a document that covered the history of the Conference’s work. Disarmament and the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and preventing the spread of weapons of mass destruction were the crucial elements in preserving peace and international security. Algeria had always played a crucial role in the decisive moments in the history of disarmament, particularly nuclear disarmament.
Ecuador said the COVID-19 pandemic had affected all countries and the world was still facing special circumstances related to this. Ecuador reiterated its bewilderment in light of the investment of millions and billions of dollars in making weapons better, while health systems were suffering and millions of people were fighting for their survival. The pandemic had reminded the world of the importance of multilateralism and why international solidarity and cooperation were so important. Ecuador was seriously concerned that the pandemic had not built the necessary understanding to work towards strengthening multilateralism. The joint statement made by the P-5 to launch talks with all States on questions of security was important but insufficient. Ecuador remained committed to peace and multilateralism and was ready to work to ensure that the Conference on Disarmament assumed its responsibilities and implemented its mandate to negotiate legally binding instruments in the area of disarmament. Ecuador reiterated its responsibility as the last President of the Conference on Disarmament this year and hoped the Conference would be able to achieve significant results during the year and a breakthrough from the paralysis affecting it.
France said this year was meeting against a very tense geopolitical context in Europe that had a direct impact on security and stability, witnessing various events while hoping to see a de-escalation of tension around Ukraine. The repeated missile launches of the Democratic Republic of Korea, and the intensification of negotiations around the future of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action reminded of the strategic context and the fact that the international disarmament architecture and that of arms control and non-proliferation must be strengthened. France would spare no effort to bring this about, including as President of the European Council for the first six months of 2022.
The international community must collectively reflect on the best way of making use of the Conference on Disarmament, which remained essential in international security affairs. France supported efforts to establish subsidiary bodies on the different items on the agenda of the Conference on Disarmament. France actively promoted the negotiation in the short term within the Conference of a fissile material cut-off treaty. This was the issue that was most ready for negotiations and would contribute to moving towards progressive nuclear disarmament. The outer space environment was rapidly changing and there were new threats, which needed analysis and pragmatic proposals to improve security and safety. France believed that a regulation of conduct in space was needed. States must not step back from the discussion that they must have on the operations of the Conference on Disarmament, and they ought to explore how the proposal to adapt the rules of procedure of the Conference to make them gender neutral could be reinvigorated so that real progress could be made this year.
Egypt said that the beginning of the 2022 session of the Conference on Disarmament was taking place in an extremely fragile, if not deteriorating global security environment, in which progress on disarmament in all its aspects was more urgent than ever. Addressing them all through building on the existing architecture and the development of new disarmament measures should be the key focus of the 2022 session. Egypt believed that the Conference on Disarmament was at the centre of the disarmament machinery. The prolonged stalemate at the Conference should not persist and certainly should not restrain from exerting utmost efforts to achieve a substantive breakthrough this year. Egypt’s view on the top priorities of the work of the Conference remained unchanged. Special attention should be accorded to the development and strengthening of the existing legal regime for promoting and maintaining outer space for peaceful activities and preserving its nature as a common heritage of humankind. Egypt looked forward to the success of the Tenth Review Conference of the Nuclear Weapon Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Pakistan said the world today was adrift, marked by a fragile security environment at the global and regional levels. New challenges were accompanied by the erstwhile ones, as they witnessed an escalation of political and military tensions across Asia and elsewhere; a renewed and expanded global arms race in which outer space, cyber technologies, artificial intelligence, and new delivery systems, were being weaponised; the revival of military alliances and bloc politics; the demise and erosion of key arms control agreements, long-standing norms and architecture; the non-fulfilment of nuclear disarmament obligations even after five decades; and the virtual demise of the international consensus on disarmament and non-proliferation due to discriminatory policies, growing mistrust and strategic asymmetries. The danger of war, in particular nuclear war, was growing.
The regional security environment in South Asia continued to deteriorate primarily because an ultra-nationalist regime in the region was pursuing: a) ideologically driven Hindutva and Hindu Rashtra policies; b) hegemony, unlawful actions and subversion in neighbouring countries; and c) unprecedented acquisition, expansion and modernization of arms and delivery systems. This regime continued to violate international law and democratic principles, with impunity. This extremist regime had embarked on massive militarization, by spending US$73 billion last year alone on the acquisition and development of new conventional and non-conventional land, air and sea-based weapons systems. Pakistan desired and was determined to pursue peace, development and strategic stability, including a peaceful neighbourhood, based on sovereign equality and mutual respect. Pakistan would do whatever it took to deter and defeat all forms of aggression. Pakistan’s proposal for a Strategic Restraint Regime in South Asia remained on the table.
Pakistan considered the Conference on Disarmament to be a vital organ of the international security architecture. However, in the absence of a more conducive environment, acknowledgement and redressal of vital national security interests and concerns, the Conference would likely remain hamstrung, affected also by the tumultuous geopolitical and fragile security environment at global and regional levels. A concerted effort was needed to revive the international consensus on security and disarmament. Pakistan remained firmly committed to the goal of a nuclear weapons free world that was achieved in a universal, verifiable and non-discriminatory manner. It was vital that all agenda items were treated in a balanced and comprehensive manner in the Conference.
Russian Federation said that during the current Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty cycle, the nuclear-5 countries (P-5) had significantly moved forward toward constructive engagement and had maintained a substantive dialogue on five issues. Efforts on some of these areas had already led to results, inter alia the joint statement on the unacceptable nature of nuclear war and on the need to avoid the arms race. The reaffirmation of this well-known notion was of crucial importance, not just in the context of the Nuclear Weapon Non-Proliferation Treaty but also in ensuring predictability in strategic relations and strengthening international security overall. The P-5 were continuing their work in other areas. This included the joint document on reducing strategic risks. The interaction between the P-5 countries was not always easy, including many hours of discussions, yet any joint document was an indication of the readiness of the five countries to continue dialogue and to search for compromises despite the clear differences in their positions. Nuclear States would be approaching the tenth Review Conference of the Nuclear Weapons Non-Proliferation Treaty with a very good head start by laying down a robust foundation for continuing joint work. Russia continued to be in favour of providing all United Nations Member States with an equal opportunity to participate in the work of the Conference as observers. It hoped that next Thursday, all requests that were made would be satisfied.
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea said that the mandate of the Conference on Disarmament as a multilateral disarmament negotiating forum remained critical. Given the current fragile and complex international security environment, all efforts should be pooled to help overcome the long-standing stalemate in the Conference and revitalise its work. To this end, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea would engage constructively in the deliberations of the Conference, in particular during its Presidency of the Conference later this year, within the framework of the P-6 + 2 coordination. A peaceful and safe world aspired by humankind was a de-nuclearised world that presupposed the total elimination of nuclear weapons. However, the reality of today was that the threat of use of nuclear weapons still existed with the nuclear arms race.
The United States was hostile towards the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea because the latter possessed nuclear weapons. In fact, it was the several decades long hostile United States policy and nuclear threat against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea that had left it with no other option than to choose building self-defensive deterrents. These were self-defensive deterrents to prevent war and safeguard the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s sovereign right and did not target any country or force. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea strongly rejected certain allegations from the European Union and other countries in which they referred to the country’s self-defence right which were based on double standards. The recent test firing of new types of weapons was part of activities carrying out a medium- and long-term plan for the development of national signs and did not pose any threat or damage to the security of neighbouring countries and the region. The United States threated the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea through vicious hostile policies and constant nuclear blackmail. Therefore, it was illogical for the United States to accuse the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s self-defence deterrence of being a threat.
Indonesia said that the COVID-19 pandemic continued to challenge all aspects of lives, including in the area of peace and security. The Conference on Disarmament should never give up in its efforts to rebuild its credibility and relevance. While pursuing the realisation of the Conferences main mandate, all must be mindful of maintaining the positive atmosphere in the Conference. The rule and spirit of consensus should not be abused to politicise the work of the Conference. Indonesia hoped that this year, the Conference would be able to accept all requests from observers.
Indonesia reiterated the urgency for the Conference to execute its mandate and adopt a balanced and comprehensive programme of work. The work of the previous presidencies had been tremendous and had provided a basis for deliberations. The Conference should not reinvent the wheel, and instead should work on the draft that enjoyed the closest consensus last year. To break the impasse that had been there for almost three decades was, of course, difficult and Indonesia encouraged the President to continue conducting comprehensive consultations with all delegates to find common ground. Indonesia called on delegates to exercise flexibility and constructive engagement. The programme of work had to be comprehensive and balanced. The Conference should prioritise which agenda items had a higher degree of maturity. However, the Conference should also be fair and considerate of others’ priorities and positions, in order to ensure that no one was left behind and that all could move forward together.
India , speaking in a right of reply, said it wished to respond to the continued abuse of the Conference by Pakistan. Pakistan had made a number of futile and unsubstantiated allegations against India, which did not merit a response. The entire territory of Jammu and Kashmir was, is and would continue to be an integral and inalienable part of India, including areas under the illegal occupation of Pakistan. The Conference was not the forum to address bilateral or regional issues.
Pakistan , speaking in a right of reply, said it reserved its right to respond to India at a future meeting.
Produced by the United Nations Information Service in Geneva for use of the information media;
not an official record. English and French versions of our releases are different as they are the product of two separate coverage teams that work independently.
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