Opening of the Informal Conference on Disarmament Civil Society Forum 2016

Excellencies,
Ladies and gentlemen:

It’s a pleasure to welcome you to the Second Informal Civil Society - Conference on Disarmament Forum. A particular welcome to the Civil Society representatives who were part of this event last year and also to those who are joining us for the first time. The good turnout today underlines the importance of this gathering and the necessity of including Civil Society representatives in our work at the Conference on Disarmament. All Member States of the CD I have talked to, have been supportive of this format: I would like to use the opportunity to thank those countries who have contributed financially to this event: Azerbaijan, Canada, Finland, India, Italy, Kazakhstan and Switzerland. I thank all those involved in the organization of the event, in particular the Office of Disarmament Affairs and the UN Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and our NGO partners - the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), and Soka Gakkai International.

Civil Society has become more and more involved in policy-making over the past decades. In addition to their valuable expertise, know-how and experience that enrich the debate, Civil Society representatives also play an important watchdog role. As reliable and indispensable partners, they can and often do energize intergovernmental processes otherwise lingering in a vacuum. This decisive contribution of Civil Society is, as I have often reminded you of, acknowledged in the quasi totality of the UN system, with the exception of the Conference on Disarmament.

This is an interesting paradox, since Civil Society has already proven to be a catalyst for action on disarmament and arms control. I am thinking about the First Committee of the General Assembly and the many disarmament treaty bodies, including the Non-Proliferation Treaty. In Geneva, Civil Society is an essential partner in the meetings of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, the Anti-personnel Landmines Convention the Convention on Cluster Munitions and within the Biological Weapons Convention. Another example is the Arms Trade Treaty where an NGO coalition shaped the debate on priority issues and had an impact on important aspects of the final treaty text.

I continue to be convinced that the Conference on Disarmament can also benefit from the exchange and cooperation with Civil Society. I hope that constructive formal cooperation can be established soon, so that we can benefit from the fresh views, vision and expertise of Civil Society. As the global hub for multilateral disarmament diplomacy, Geneva hosts an impressive number of Civil Society organizations that have mountains of valuable data and impressive knowledge on the issues we are discussing.

The objective of this Forum last year – to create space for a sustainable dialogue between Conference members, observers and representatives of Civil Society organizations and research institutions working in the field of international security and disarmament – remains also this year’s main objective. And this year we have structured the Forum to allow for greater interaction among all participants than we had last year.

The idea is to exchange views and to explore innovative ways of addressing the substance of the work of the Conference. The Forum is intended to serve as a platform where diverse and alternative ideas may benefit the formal work of the Conference – but freed from the confines of the Council Chamber and the reiteration of well-known official positions and statements.

At the closing of last year’s first informal CD-Civil society Forum, I expressed my intention to organize a subsequent CD-Civil society Forum pending a more formal inclusion of civil society interlocutors in the deliberations of the CD. Last year, the Forum was built around the CD’s agenda items. This year, the two topics of discussion are not only cross-cutting. They are also highly relevant to the international community's efforts to build a more safe, secure and just future. The issue of new weapons technologies cuts across a number of weapons categories, from lethal autonomous weapons discussed here in Geneva in the context of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW), to 3-D printable guns becoming a reality, to the democratization of synthetic biology creating new safety and security risks and artificial intelligence, to give just a few examples. What is common to all such new and emerging technologies is their rapid scientific and technological development, and the fact that most of these technologies are of dual-use nature. As a result, the international community is at pains to control and regulate and, in some cases, fully understand them.

As for today’s other topic, the Conference on Disarmament does not and cannot exist in a vacuum. The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development is now the agenda for all of us, not just of the United Nations, and the UN system entities. Hence, all of us must work towards its implementation. Sustainable Development Goal 16, which promotes peaceful societies, makes the broader acknowledgement that curbing armed violence, towards which multilateral disarmament can contribute, also works towards development.

With this year’s topics, we will address two of the latest trends and issues on the international agenda which are of serious concern to and interlinked with peace and security. The Conference on Disarmament should be able to decisively contribute to shaping responses to these challenges.

Two Panelists – one from a Member State and the second from civil society – will introduce each topic, followed by an interactive discussion. In the first panel, from 11.15 a.m. to 1 p.m., we look forward to the input by H.E. Ambassador Michael Biontino from Germany and Professor Denise Garcia from Brazil, both of whom I thank very much for having agreed to participate today. The second panel, after lunch, starting at 3 p.m., will begin with a video message from Mr. David Nabarro, Special Advisor to the United Nations Secretary General on the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and Climate Change. In this session, we look forward to the interventions from H.E. Ambassador Beatriz Londoño Soto from Colombia and by Mr. Guy Dongmo Feugap from Cameroon. The Forum today is held, as last year, under Chatham House rules. There will be a sandwich lunch served outside the room to all participants and after the closing of the Forum we invite you to join us for a reception which will also take place outside the room. As last year, we will have an informal Chairman’s note summarizing the discussion.

David Atwood, our moderator today, is well-known to many of you as he has contributed significantly to the cause of disarmament over the years. He served as Representative for Disarmament and Peace at the Quaker United Nations Office in Geneva from 1995 - 2011. He also was Director of the Quaker United Nations Office from 2004 - 2011. From 2011 until November of 2015, he was Senior Advisor at the Small Arms Survey. Over his years in Geneva, he has worked on a wide range of security and disarmament issues. He is a co-founder of the former Geneva Forum and the Geneva Peacebuilding Platform and holds a Ph.D. from the University of North Carolina.

With these words I would like to thank David for being our moderator today and I hand over the proceedings to him.

I look forward to a constructive discussion and fruitful deliberations.

Thank you.