MINISTER FOR FOREIGN AFFAIRS OF ALGERIA ADDRESSES CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT

Mourad Medelci, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Algeria, addressed the Conference on Disarmament this morning, notably highlighting that perspectives for negotiation of a treaty banning production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons “has become promising given the political will expressed by certain key partners for accepting verification measures”. Also addressing the Conference this morning were Ukraine, Poland, Tunisia, Indonesia, Syria, Egypt and Brazil.

Mr. Medelci stressed Algeria's support for the Conference on Disarmament and Algeria's faith in multilateral action within its framework for the consolidation of international peace and security. The nuclear menace persisted, as measured by the “impressive” figure of 27,000 nuclear warheads in existence, and that threat was increased by the recourse to nuclear doctrines that lowered the threshold for the use of such weapons, as well as by the possibility of their use by non-State actors. The non-nuclear weapon States, including Algeria, had the right to demand from nuclear weapon States to take concrete measures to advance in real nuclear disarmament. In that context, Algeria hoped that the review process of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty under way would be crowned, in 2010, by tangible results balanced among the three pillars of the treaty – disarmament, non-proliferation and the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Regional denuclearization was also an important step along the path to global nuclear disarmament. The creation of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East would necessarily promote the peace process and should not be subordinated to it.

With regard to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, while Algeria understood the worries of some, it was convinced that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), by its mandate and its professionalism, remained the ideal framework for ensuring the pacific nature of nuclear programmes. There was also space, if necessary, to envisage agreed mechanisms to promote transparency in nuclear programmes within the IAEA framework, Mr. Medelci said.

Ukraine reiterated its support for the Conference, while welcoming a number of recent important disarmament initiatives, such as the "Five-Point Proposal" by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, and the resumption of bilateral negotiations between the United States and the Russian Federation aimed at reductions in their arsenals. Commencement of negotiations without any preconditions on a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty should be the Conference’s first priority, and Ukraine urged all delegations to demonstrate flexibility and join the consensus on the basis of document CD/1840.

Poland presented the report from the conference of the Warsaw Reflection Group on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, held on 20 and 21 November 2008 in Warsaw. It also welcomed the progress in bilateral disarmament talks between the United States and the Russian Federation, outlined its active engagement in the non-proliferation and disarmament process, including as chair of the 2009 session of the United Nations Disarmament Commission, and reiterated its support for the commencement without preconditions of negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons as a matter of priority.

Tunisia, Indonesia, Syria, Egypt and Brazil welcomed the incoming President of the Conference, Ambassador Idriss Jazairy of Algeria, and the address by the Foreign Minister of Algeria.


Also today, Council Members attended a brief presentation ceremony of a gift from the Algerian Government in the hall outside the Council Chamber, where it will remain on permanent display.

At the end of the meeting, the Conference agreed to a request from Tajikistan to participate in the 2009 session of the Conference as an observer.

According to draft decision CD/1840 by the 2008 Presidents of the Conference, the Conference would appoint Coordinators to preside over substantive discussions three of four core issues identified by the Conference: nuclear disarmament and the prevention of nuclear war; prevention of an arms race in outer space; and negative security assurances for non-nuclear weapon States. On the fourth item, a Coordinator would be appointed to preside over negotiations, without any preconditions, on a non-discriminatory and multilateral treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices, thus "providing all delegations with the opportunity to actively pursue their respective positions and priorities, and to submit proposals on any issue they deem relevant in the course of negotiations". Draft Decision CD/1840 builds on an earlier proposal submitted by the 2007 P-6 (CD/2007/L.1), and its related documents CRP.5 and CRP.6, combining those three texts in a single document.

The next plenary of the Conference will be held at 10 a.m., on Thursday, 19 March.

Statements

MOURAD MEDELCI, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Algeria, took this opportunity to reaffirm the adhesion of Algeria to the ideals and principles of multilateralism on which the United Nations was founded. His presence here today was also a demonstration of Algeria's support for the Conference on Disarmament, the sole multilateral negotiating body for disarmament, and an opportunity to express Algeria's faith in multilateral action within its framework for the consolidation of international peace and security. Algeria was profoundly convinced that the promotion of international cooperation in disarmament was an essential prerequisite for the expansion of zones of security and the spread of areas of prosperity. Algeria's commitment to disarmament had already been demonstrated by its acceptance of all the international legal instruments in this area, in particular, the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, as well as the full implementation of the General Security Assurances concluded with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Indeed, President Bouteflika, then responsible for diplomatic affairs, had already underscored in 1979 at the inaugural meeting of the Conference on Disarmament that the Conference could only play an important role inasmuch States showed their political will, which was the "decisive factor" for the implementation of genuine disarmament measures. That remained true today.

While the risk of mutual nuclear destruction had diminished with the disappearance of the bipolar world, the nuclear menace persisted. That threat could be measured by the number of nuclear warheads, close to the impressive figure of 27,000. That threat was increased by the recourse to nuclear doctrines that lowered the threshold for the use of such weapons, as well as by the possibility of their use by non-State actors. Moreover, nuclear weapons still enjoyed legitimacy by default, whereas the prohibition against chemical and biological weapons were codified. Very concerned about that danger, the non-nuclear weapon States, including Algeria, had the right to demand from nuclear weapon States to take concrete measures to advance in real nuclear disarmament. The General Assembly, the Non-Aligned Movement and the Group of 21 continued to insist on the necessity of engaging in negotiations in the framework of a gradual programme for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons, leading to a convention on nuclear weapons. In that context, Algeria hoped that the review process of the NPT under way would be crowned, in 2010, by tangible results balanced among the three pillars of the treaty –disarmament, non-proliferation and the peaceful use of nuclear energy. The credibility of the treaty was linked to its universality. In that regard, regional denuclearization was an important step along the path to global nuclear disarmament. Whereas Algeria welcomed the existence of nuclear-weapon-free zones, such as in Africa, which it had supported, it was concerned that the Middle East remained a region under high tension without such a regime, despite the resolutions and recommendations of the Security Council and the (NPT) Review Conferences of 1995 and 2000. The creation of such a zone in the Middle East would necessarily promote the peace process and thus should not be subordinated to it.

With regard to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, while Algeria understood the worries of some, it was convinced that the IAEA, by its mandate and its professionalism, remained the ideal framework for ensuring the pacific nature of nuclear programmes. There was also space, if necessary, to envisage agreed mechanisms to promote transparency in nuclear programmes within the IAEA framework. Regarding nuclear disarmament, Algeria welcomed the declarations by the United States and the Russian Federation concerning the replacement of the START treaty, which would expire in December 2009, by a new treaty. Nevertheless, Algeria felt that such measures, as well as other unilateral measures taken by nuclear powers, although important, would have more impact if they were accompanied by a process of multilateral discussion. As had already been noted, the perspectives for the negotiations of a treaty banning the production of fissile materials for nuclear weapons or nuclear explosive devices had become promising given the political will expressed by certain key partners for accepting verification measures. Algeria welcomed the progress made in finding a consensus in that regard. In conclusion, Mr. Medelci said it was the responsibility of all Member States, individually and collectively, to define as soon as possible, a consensus framework, realistic and credible to get back to work at formulating decisions that would respond the aspirations of the "peoples of the United Nations".

MYKOLA MAIMESKUL (Ukraine) said Ukraine strongly hoped that the Conference on Disarmament would manage to face the growing challenges, reach agreement on its programme of work and address all the substantive issues therein. They all needed to restate their commitments to multilateralism as a core principle in negotiations in the area of disarmament and the international security agenda. In today's changing global security environment, the strengthening of international and national legal norms and instruments to prevent weapons of mass destruction proliferation remained a top priority. While recognizing difficulties in the implementation of existing international treaties, in the bringing into force of new ones, as well as the stalemate in disarmament negotiations, Ukraine fully reaffirmed its commitment to maintain and strengthen the Conference on Disarmament as the sole multilateral forum of the international community for disarmament negotiations. Alongside that, Ukraine welcomed a number of recent important disarmament initiatives, such as the "Five-Point Proposal" by United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and European Union proposals on nuclear disarmament, as well as valuable input from nuclear weapon States and civil society groups. Ukraine had been particularly pleased to see the call of the Secretary-General to resume bilateral negotiations between the United States and the Russian Federation aimed at deep and verifiable reductions in their respective arsenals.

All of those developments meant that the fresh wind of change in the field of global disarmament had already opened new windows of opportunity, destined to upgrade the current system of international security architecture and bring back the spirit of consensus to this Chamber. It meant that every effort should be made to shore up and enhance the efficiency of the multilateral agreements in this field, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). It was also important to stress the vital importance of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty's universalization in the context of strengthening the NPT regime. In addition – especially given Ukraine's status as the former possessor of the world's third largest nuclear arsenal, which it had abandoned in 1996 – Ukraine believed that the adoption of a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT) would significantly reinforce the current NPT regime. Commencement of negotiations without any preconditions on a FMCT should be the first priority for the Conference on Disarmament, and should pave the way for an agreement on the Conference's programme of work. In that regard, the outcome of the informal discussions this year had confirmed that the content of CD/1840, containing a proposal for a programme of work for the Conference, had not lost its relevance and represented a good basis for modifications. Ukraine urged all delegations to demonstrate flexibility and join the consensus on the basis of that document.

ANDRZEJ MISZTAL (Poland) took the floor to present the report from the conference of the Warsaw Reflection Group on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, jointly organized by the Polish Institute of International Affairs and the Stockholm Peace Research Institute, which had taken place on 20 and 21 November 2008 in Warsaw. Attending the Conference had been 40 diplomats, scholars and politicians from 15 countries, as well as high-level representatives of the United Nations disarmament machinery. Today, they observed a growing number of nuclear disarmament initiatives sponsored by the United States, Asian, Australian and European politicians, including the Hoover Initiative, the Evans-Kawaguchi Commission, the Luxembourg Forum, the Global Zero Initiative and the Oslo Conference in February 2008. The Warsaw Conference, with its intellectual dimension and broad capacity of topics, joined the mainstream of the ongoing discussion. It also offered a unique opportunity to explore the history of nuclear disarmament and increased significantly institutional knowledge of nuclear disarmament, as well as offering effective solutions for the future.

Today, the international community again had the opportunity to make significant steps in the right direction. Poland welcomed the latest Geneva announcement of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Minister for Foreign Affairs Sergey Lavrov that the conclusion of a new strategic arms reduction agreement by the end of the year was "the highest priority in United States-Russian relations". Such an agreement would definitely impact in a positive way the course and results of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty 2010 Review Conference, in particular, the implementation of article VI of the Treaty. Poland was actively engaged in the non-proliferation and disarmament process, and had assumed chairmanship of the 2009 session of the United Nations Disarmament Commission, which would start on 13 April in New York. Poland believed that there was a constructive atmosphere and expected concrete results from the session, which would also contribute to a positive outcome of the NPT session, as well as to discussion with the Conference on Disarmament framework. In that context, Poland reiterated its support for the statement made in the Conference by the Czech Republic on behalf of the European Union on 20 January 2009, holding also the view that the commencement without preconditions of negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other explosive devices was their priority. Poland also believed that the new treaty could be equipped with the mechanism of effective verification once technological expertise allowed.

ABDELWAHEB JEMAL (Tunisia) welcomed the presidency of Algeria, and expressed best wishes and every confidence in the successful guidance by the President of the work of the Conference. Also welcome had been the statement by the Algerian Foreign Minister, restating Algeria's commitment to the work of the Conference. Lately they had seen a trend that was positive to the work of the Conference. They had received the presence of high-level State actors. In conclusion, Tunisia endorsed the wish voiced by the Foreign Minister of Algeria when he had called on Member States to reconcile the security interests of States with the disarmament agenda so that they could in a timely fashion reach consensus that would bring true value added.

DIAN TRIANSYAH DJANI (Indonesia) welcomed the inspiring remarks by the Foreign Minister of Algeria, and also welcomed the Algerian President of the Conference. Indonesia attached great importance to the work of the Conference on Disarmament. Consequently the long absence of a programme of work was a matter of great concern. It was hoped that innovative efforts in the Conference and intensive consultation among Member States would pave the way for a more fruitful conclusion in the future. They all needed to work together to ensure that the principle of multilateralism was upheld to the maximum. Indonesia pledged its support for the new President and to work with the other members of the Conference to find ways to move the work of the Conference forward.

ABDULMAOLA AL NUQARI (Syria) also welcomed the statement by the Foreign Minister of Algeria, which would be a great inspiration in their work. The incoming Algerian President of the Conference was also welcomed, and Syria expressed confidence that his efforts would be successful as well as pledging Syria's support in that endeavour.

OBAIDA EL-DANDARAWY (Egypt) voiced Egypt's deep appreciation to the new President and to Algeria's Foreign Minister, whose statement contained excellent words of wisdom. Egypt reiterated its firm willingness to work with the President to bring the work of the Conference to a successful conclusion, and the establishment of a programme of work.

LUIZ DE MACEDO SOARES (Brazil) said the commencement of the Algerian President's tenure inspired confidence. Brazil was pleased to see him at the helm of that difficult task, as he had the gift of clarity. Those who had bad ideas were never clear. The Algerian presidency was the third consecutive presidency by a member of the Group of 21. The smoothness of the conduct of business in this body since the start of this year had been highlighted here this morning – so the Group of 21, to which Brazil belonged, was thanked. The President could call on Brazil's full support.


For use of the information media; not an official record

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