CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT CLOSES 2008 SUBSTANTIVE SESSION

The Conference on Disarmament this morning adopted its annual report to the General Assembly and closed the work of its 2008 substantive session, which officially ends this Friday, 12 September.

In concluding remarks at its final meeting, Ambassador German Mundarain Hernandez of Venezuela, President of the Conference, said he could not fail to express his concern, which had also been reflected in many statements to the Conference during the past year. It was indispensable that they come up with a concrete programme of work and he wished that in 2009, by redoubling their efforts, they could achieve that goal.

The annual report of the Conference (CD/WP.550 and CD/WP.550/Amend.1), adopted by consensus today, notes that “The Conference has achieved substantive progress by conducting important thematic debates on all agenda items and has advanced considerably in its efforts but could not yet reach consensus on a programme of work.”

The report records that the 2008 Presidents of the Conference appointed Coordinators for agenda items 1 to 7 and decided on the organizational framework of the Conference, without prejudice to any future decisions of the Conference on its programme of work. The Coordinators, under the authority of the 2008 Presidents, chaired informal meetings on agenda items 1 to 7 - cessation of a nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament; prevention of nuclear war; prevention of an arms race in outer space; effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons; new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons; radiological weapons; comprehensive programme of disarmament; and transparency in armaments - and reported in their personal capacity on their results.

The report also sets out the introduction and content of draft decision CD/1840 submitted by the 2008 Presidents of the Conference on 13 March, containing a draft programme of work. 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".

A wide range of delegations supported the Presidential Proposal contained in document CD/1840, the report said. “A number of delegations though who had some concerns about certain elements in the Proposal said that they would not oppose consensus on it and other delegations stated they had concerns that the Proposal would not satisfy their expectations. Some delegations stated that they had substantive reservations and concerns about the Proposal and that more work was needed to address them.” The report underscored that, accordingly, further consultations were needed to reach consensus on a programme of work.

This year, although the Conference failed once again to adopt a programme of work, saw a continued building of momentum and dialogue in that forum, starting with its first plenary of 2008, on 23 January, when Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon opened the Conference – the first time that a United Nations Secretary-General had addressed the yearly opening. He had made a renewed call for the Conference to “move forward in a spirit of compromise to seize the historic opportunity and end the impasse in its work”, notably by adopting the draft decision then before the Conference (CD/2007/L.1, subsequently superseded by CD/1840). He also stressed the need for political vision in taking that step, and he called on foreign ministers and other political leaders to come to the Conference on Disarmament and encouraged a return to productive work. That call had subsequently translated into a number of high-level addresses by Government ministers urging the conference to get back to work. At its 2008 session, the Conference was addressed by the Vice President of Colombia, as well as by 11 Ministers – from Tunisia, the United Kingdom, Russia, Argentina, Netherlands, Kazakhstan, Romania, Iran, Slovakia, Norway and Sweden. It also heard an address by the head of the United States Nuclear Security Administration, from Javier Solana, the Secretary-General of the Council of Europe, and from a number of deputy ministers.

In celebration of International Women’s Day, on 11 March 2008, the President of the Conference had read out a statement by the non-governmental organization NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security, highlighting the crises of human security and sustainable development caused by military spending, war and weapon profiteering, and the persistence of ideas and expectations of gender that shaped how war, women and peace were considered. At that meeting, a number of speakers reiterated their call for the greater inclusion of civil society in the work of the Conference and expressed the hope that next year the annual statement could be delivered to the Conference by a representative of the NGO group in person.

As set out in the annual report, the Conference decided that the dates for the three parts of its 2009 session will be from 19 January to 27 March for the first part; 18 May to 3 July for the second part; and 3 August to 18 September for the third part.



For use of the information media; not an official record

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