CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT CONCLUDES HIGH-LEVEL SEGMENT

The Conference on Disarmament this morning concluded the high-level segment of its 2017 session after hearing addresses from dignitaries from Bulgaria, Iraq, Sweden and Venezuela.

Lubomir Ivanov, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, said that the Arms Trade Treaty, now in the third year since its entry into force, was one of the positive developments in the arms control and disarmament domain. For Bulgaria, that Treaty had always been among the national priorities in the export and arms control area.

Ibrahim al-Jaafari, Minister for Foreign Affairs of Iraq, stressed that nuclear disarmament should definitely be a priority for the Conference, with the goal of achieving a world free of nuclear weapons. Negative security assurances also ought to be provided, which was a legitimate demand by non-nuclear weapon States.

Margot Wallström, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, stated that in a deteriorating security environment, every opportunity ought to be taken to seek progress in nuclear disarmament, while the humanitarian perspective could not be ignored. Nuclear weapon States were strongly encouraged to abandon hair trigger launch procedures, which were potentially destabilizing.

Ruben Darío Molina, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, emphasized that nuclear weapons represented a grave threat to the existence of humanity, and they should not be used under any circumstances. The only effective guarantee against the use of nuclear weapons was their total prohibition in a transparent, verifiable and irreversible manner.

The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, the Republic of Korea and Bulgaria spoke in right of reply.

The Conference on Disarmament will next meet in public for its regular weekly plenary meeting on Tuesday, 7 March at 10 a.m.

High-Level Segment

LUBOMIR IVANOV, Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria, said that today’s security challenges on a global scale were of an increasingly complex nature. Regrettably, for more than two decades, the Conference, which had an impressive historic record, had been in a deadlock. Sustained political commitment and willingness to seek common ground were needed from all Conference members in order the preserve the relevance of that body.

Numerous considerations pointed to the fact that the only realistic way to attain the goal of effective, verifiable and irreversible nuclear disarmament was through a progressive approach based on practical and feasible steps. There was no fast track to achieving a world free of nuclear weapons. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was the central platform for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. The commencement of the new review cycle this year was an opportunity that needed to be seized in a responsible manner by all States parties, stressed Mr. Ivanov. The Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty was another key building block in the construction of a world without nuclear weapons. Bulgaria called upon all States that had not yet done so to sign and ratify the Treaty without any further delay. That was in particular relevant to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, which had carried out nuclear tests in violation of its international obligations. Among positive developments in the disarmament domain Mr. Ivanov listed the Arms Trade Treaty, now in the third year since its entry into force. For Bulgaria, that Treaty had always been among the national priorities in the export and arms control area, and Bulgaria had participated actively in the negotiations process since the beginning. Bulgaria would spare no effort to contribute to the achievement of the Treaty’s objectives. Mr. Ivanov concluded by stating that all avenues that had the potential to bring the Conference closer to fulfilling its tasks should be explored, and expanding its membership could be one of the ways to revive its work.

IBRAHIM AL-JAAFARI, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iraq, reaffirmed Iraq’s commitment to multilateralism in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Iraq gave special importance to general and complete disarmament, realizing that the arms race did not lead to peace and undermined security. Iraq was fully committed to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and other multilateral agreements on disarmament.

Mr. Al-Jaafari said that Iraq gave special attention to the work of the Conference, a unique multilateral forum for disarmament issues, which had enjoyed multiple successes in its history. The Conference on Disarmament had not been able to play its role in recent decades, for which the political will of its Member States was necessary. More efforts ought to be made on a programme of work, which Iraq had attempted to do in 2013, during its Presidency of the Conference. States that used, or threatened to use, nuclear weapons contravened international law. Countries should hold negotiations which would make it possible to make nuclear disarmament internationally effective, stressed Mr. Al-Jaafari. Nuclear disarmament should definitely be a priority for the Conference, with the goal of achieving a world free of nuclear weapons. Negative security assurances also ought to be provided, which was a legitimate demand by non-nuclear weapon States. Iraq believed that the production of fissile materials undermined nuclear disarmament, which was why it supported a fissile material cut-off treaty. Any arms race in outer space needed to be prevented. Iraq was in favour of creating zones without nuclear weapons, including in the Middle East, as a step towards a nuclear weapon free world. Concern was expressed that the 2015 Non-Proliferation Review Conference had failed to achieve its objective.

MARGOT WALLSTRÖM, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Sweden, stated that, over the past two years, one could witness an increase in unfilled commitments, in polarization, and in the inability of multilateral fora to conduct their mandated work, with the Conference on Disarmament and the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference being cases in point. Disarmament diplomacy now had to be conducted with a clear sense of urgency, for which there was ample justification.

A particularly dangerous aspect was the continuing existence of nuclear weapons, whose levels still put the survival of the human race at risk. The strong norm against testing established by the Comprehensive Test-Ban Treaty was again being challenged by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. Time was running out, as symbolized by the recent announcement by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists that the doomsday clock had been adjusted by 30 seconds, to two and a half minutes to midnight, the second highest alert status since its inception in 1947. On the other hand, the most positive development during recent years was the recognition that nuclear weapons could not be reconciled with international humanitarian law. Human beings, not States, had been placed at the forefront of the discussion. Sweden looked forward to participating in the negotiations on a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination. In a deteriorating security environment, every opportunity ought to be taken to seek progress in nuclear disarmament, while the humanitarian perspective could not be ignored. Sweden saw the prohibition in the context of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty framework, not as a substitute for it. Ms. Wallström welcomed the decision to set up a high-level expert preparatory group on a fissile material cut-off treaty, while the First Committee had shown strong support for the resolution on de-alerting, introduced by Sweden. Nuclear weapon States were strongly encouraged to abandon hair trigger launch procedures, which were potentially destabilizing. Better control also ought to be gained of small arms and light weapons, which killed half a million people every year, concluded Ms. Wallström.

RUBEN DARÍO MOLINA, Vice Minister for Foreign Affairs of Venezuela, reiterated Venezuela’s pacifist commitment to a more secure world. The Conference of Disarmament, which had led to significant achievements in the past, had now been in a situation of a stalemate for 20 years. The Conference had to recover its original mission by adopting, with urgency, a balanced and broad programme of work.

It was urgent to commence negotiations on a legally binding agreement on banning the production of fissile materials. Work also needed to be done on the prevention of an arms race in outer space and negative security assurances. More resources should be dedicated to sustainable development and lifting people out of poverty rather than on further armaments. Nuclear weapons represented a grave threat to the existence of humanity, and they should not be used under any circumstances. Their use or threat of use were grave violations of the Charter of the United Nations and constituted a crime against humanity. The only effective guarantee against the use of nuclear weapons was their total prohibition in a transparent, verifiable and irreversible manner. Venezuela called for the elimination of the role of nuclear weapons in strategic defence doctrines, security policies and military strategies. The Vice Minister further said that Venezuela repudiated terrorism in all its forms and manifestations; the anti-terrorism fight ought to be conducted multilaterally, with full respect of international humanitarian law. Venezuela backed negotiations on a legally binding instrument on acts of biological and chemical terrorism. Venezuela was a State party of the Treaty of Tlaelolco, which had established Latin America and the Caribbean as the first zone free of nuclear weapons. Outer space should be used only for peaceful purposes, to the benefit of all peoples and without negative repercussions on the security of States. Venezuela insisted that negotiations on nuclear disarmament commence in the Conference on Disarmament.

Rights of Reply

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in a right of reply, rejected accusations by the speakers from Bulgaria and Sweden. They seemed not to be concerned about the situation in the Korean Peninsula, but were voicing known stereotypes about the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. While calling for global security and peace, their comments were contradictory.

Republic of Korea, in a right of reply said that “North Korea’s” propositions were delusional and contradictory to the facts. The country was constantly violating numerous international obligations.

Bulgaria, in a right of reply, said that what the Deputy Foreign Minister said was that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea had carried out nuclear tests in violation of its international obligations, which was a fact.

Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, in a right of reply, said that “South Korea” was using this forum to smear the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. European countries should try to have an objective view of the Korean Peninsula.



For use of the information media; not an official record

DC17/011E