ROMANIA’S STATE SECRETARY FOR STRATEGIC AFFAIRS ADDRESSES CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT

The Conference on Disarmament this afternoon was addressed by Bogdan Aurescu, State Secretary for Strategic Affairs of Romania, who said that the world was witnessing a positive approach for disarmament and non-proliferation multilateral efforts and that the Conference on Disarmament should take advantage of the current international environment, which seemed to be much better suited for further efforts in nuclear disarmament than previous years. The Conference could and had the ability to exercise a significantly greater impact in its field of competence.

The current international environment in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation should give an impetus to the Conference to resume its role as a negotiating forum, said Mr. Aurescu. Otherwise, there was a danger that the Conference might lose its relevance and that States might turn toward other ways and means of negotiating international disarmament agreements outside this Conference. He believed that that was in nobody’s interest.

Romania was firmly attached to the multilateral framework of international disarmament and non-proliferation instruments at both global and regional levels, said Mr. Aurescu. Romania strongly supported the Conference as a major framework for nuclear issues and continued to recognize its value for international peace and security. His delegation supported the adoption of a programme of work as soon as possible, leading to the resumption of the Conference’s mandate. Such a programme was not an end in itself, but just a tool that should enable the Conference to fulfil its functions.

One of the key issues before the Conference was the negotiation of the Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty, which would make nuclear disarmament irreversible. The Conference must engage in the negotiations, for which it was by far the most natural forum thanks to its composition and expertise, said Mr. Aurescu. Romania considered the commencement of these negotiations as the next logical step for advancing nuclear disarmament and preventing proliferation.

The entry into force of the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty was also a vital component of the common international effort to prevent nuclear weapons proliferation and to bring about nuclear disarmament. It was a matter of deep concern for Romania that the treaty had not yet entered into force, more than ten years after it had been opened for signature, said Mr. Aurescu.

Another key topical issue before the Conference was outer space. In this age of globalization, the use of outer space should exclusively be for peaceful purposes, said Mr. Aurescu. This involved the need for enhanced discussions on space security and preventing an arms race in space.

Progress towards the vision of a world free of weapons of mass destruction, as laid out by United States President Barack Obama, needed to be a common endeavour, said Mr. Aurescu. Therefore, they could not allow the upcoming Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference to fail. In view of the recent challenges to the nuclear non-proliferation regime, Romania had taken every opportunity, at the bilateral and multilateral level, to emphasize the importance of the observance of the nuclear non-proliferation commitments undertaken by all States Parties to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and continued to underline the necessity of strengthening the International Atomic Energy Agency Safeguards System.

The long-term success of the efforts to strengthen the non-proliferation regime would also depend on the willingness of the nuclear weapons States to reduce their own stockpiles of nuclear weapons and their reliance on them in their military doctrines. Mr. Aurescu welcomed the bilateral discussions between the United States and the Russian Federation to finalize a new Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

Mr. Aurescu said that they must also not forget conventional weapons. Romania looked forward to a continued constructive dialogue and negotiations in Geneva leading to a broad agreement on an effective regulation of cluster munitions.

In today’s world, peace and security must be addressed from a global perspective and a multilateral security system based on cooperation was needed, said Mr. Aurescu. Concrete results had been achieved in the past, but many steps were still required. He hoped that the Conference would assume the lead in taking those necessary steps forward. The Conference needed to seize the opportunity to embark without delay on its substantive work.

The next plenary of the Conference on Disarmament will be on Thursday, 4 March at 10 a.m., when the Conference will hear from Chinami Nishimura, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Japan.


For use of the information media; not an official record

DC10/013E