CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT HOLDS PUBLIC PLENARY

The Conference on Disarmament this morning held a public plenary during which it heard a valedictory address from the Permanent Representative of Algeria, who was leaving after seven years in his post.

In his address, Idriss Jazairy, Permanent Representative of Algeria to the Conference on Disarmament, recalled Algeria’s important contributions to the disarmament process, from 1979 to the present date, which culminated in his submission of a proposed Programme of Work that was subsequently adopted by consensus in May 2009 and became CD/1864, but said that despite that historical agreement, the Conference had moved backwards. The basic priority of the Conference was elimination of nuclear weapons, and in that regard a treaty banning production of fissile materials was an integral element. It was the duty of any State to deter any threat by virtue of the right to self-defence under the United Nations Charter, but that did not confer on anyone the right to enjoy a monopoly on nuclear weapons. Any person who believed that nuclear danger was on the wane laboured under a delusion; indeed statistics confirmed that approximately 60 per cent of the world’s inhabitants relied on those weapons for their security. The effectiveness of the Non-Proliferation Treaty was dependent on its universalization. In that regard, it was momentously important to ban nuclear weapons from the Middle East.

Hisham Badr, President of the Conference, thanked Mr. Jazairy for his words, and said he had represented his country with great courage and wisdom, and a constructive attitude all members were inspired to emulate.

All speakers paid tribute to the enormous efforts of Mr. Jazairy on disarmament over the past decade, including his Programme of Work which was adopted in 2009 as the important document CD/1864, and his inspirational contributions. South Africa took the floor on behalf of the seven members of the New Agenda Coalition, who believed that a subsidiary body should be established to deal with nuclear disarmament, and supported commencement of negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. Iran addressed the Conference in order to refute comments made in a previous meeting by the United States, and said there was no evidence at all that Iran had diverged from its peaceful nuclear programme to one of military use.

Addressing the Conference today were Algeria, South Africa, Iran, United Kingdom, United States and Nigeria.


The Conference on Disarmament will next meet in public on Thursday 8 March at 9.30 a.m. when a member of the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom will address the Conference on the occasion of International Women’s Day.

Statements

IDRISS JAZAIRY, Algeria, said that after seven years his assignment as Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament had come to an end, and he wished to share conclusions he had drawn from his experience during that period. Algeria had, against its will, become a land of experimentations for French nuclear tests, which had a terrible impact on people and the environment, an impact that remained today. Therefore Algeria naturally sought to eliminate all weapons of mass destruction, with nuclear weapons in the forefront. Mr. Jazairy recalled Algeria’s important contributions to the disarmament process, from 1979 to the present date, which culminated in his submission of a proposed Programme of Work that was subsequently adopted by consensus in May 2009 and became CD/1864. Despite that historical agreement, the Conference had moved backwards. The basic priority for the Conference was elimination of nuclear weapons, and in that regard a treaty banning production of fissile materials was an integral element. It was the duty of any State to deter any threat or external aggression by virtue of the right to self-defence under the United Nations Charter, but that did not confer on anyone the right to enjoy a monopoly on nuclear weapons. Any person who believed that nuclear danger was on the wane laboured under a delusion; indeed statistics confirmed that approximately 60 per cent of the world’s inhabitants relied on those weapons for their security, either directly, or indirectly through a nuclear umbrella.

The effectiveness of the Non-Proliferation Treaty was dependent on its universalization. In that regard, it was momentously important to ban nuclear weapons from the Middle East. The fact that one State remained outside the treaty, and disposal of nuclear arsenal, brought a strategic imbalance to the region and thus was a source of tension. If that situation continued, it would trigger a dialectic conducive to nuclear proliferation, in order to restore that strategic balance. The only reasonable solution was to eradicate the nuclear weapons that existed in the Middle East and to act decisively to prevent any future proliferation. Mr. Jazairy commended the suggestions of Mr. Tokayev, Secretary General of the Conference on Disarmament, to hold a High-Level Conference and to appoint special coordinators. Together, the United Nations agreed in its Charter “to save succeeding generations from the scourge of war”. We have a momentous responsibility to preserve the credibility of the Conference, Mr. Jazairy said, and if a Programme of Work – simplified or not – could not be adopted to at least provide for discussions in plenary sessions, it would be necessary to call a Special Session of the United Nations General Assembly on disarmament to examine the crisis confronting the multilateral disarmament machinery. Mr. Jazairy concluded by thanking his colleagues, and paying tribute to the representatives of civil society who followed the Conference’s deliberations from the gallery, and said he hoped non-governmental organizations would soon be able to inspire the Conference through their contributions.

HISHAM BADR, President of the Conference, thanked Mr. Jazairy for his address, and said he had represented his country with great courage and wisdom, and a constructive attitude all members were inspired to emulate. The President thanked him for always seeking a consensus, and his great contributions to the Conference over the past years.

ABDUL SAMAD MINTY, South Africa, took the floor on behalf of the seven members of the New Agenda Coalition (NAC): Brazil, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Sweden, Egypt and South Africa. The New Agenda Coalition was a cross-regional group established in 1998 to champion the cause of nuclear disarmament, and was formed following the lack of progress in the aftermath of the 1995 Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty Review and Extension Conference. The New Agenda Coalition believed that a programme of work should include the establishment of a subsidiary body to deal with nuclear disarmament, and supported commencement of negotiations on a treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons and other nuclear explosive devices; a treaty that should serve both nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. The New Agenda Coalition underlined the legitimate interest of non-nuclear weapon States in receiving unequivocal and legally binding security assurances from the nuclear-weapon States, which could strengthen the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Finally, in his capacity as Permanent Representative of South Africa, Mr. Minty thanked Mr. Jazairy for his enormous efforts on disarmament over the past decade, and said that although Mr. Jazairy left his post without seeing the Conference resume substantive work, he could leave knowing he had inspired the Conference to move forward through his wisdom and valuable contributions.

MOHAMMED HASSAN DARYACI, Iran, paid tribute to the contributions of Mr. Jazairy and thanked him for his work over the past years. Mr. Daryaci then responded to a statement made by the United States in a previous plenary meeting, and said the United States’ ‘monolithic approach to Disarmament’ and adamant adherence to its rigid reading of Iran’s nuclear programmes ruled out any constructive analysis of Iran’s peaceful nuclear programme. It seemed that the United States’ foreign policy had long been taken hostage by its false assumptions about Iran, and gave the impression that the United States was actually behind the continued existence of nuclear weapons. There was no evidence at all that Iran had diverged from its peaceful nuclear programme to one of military use. The fuel cycle and enrichment activities referred to in the statement of the United States were not forbidden under the Non-Proliferation Treaty. Resorting to such baseless allegations against Iran prevented the United States from truly supporting disarmament, as did its continued deployment of hundreds of nuclear warheads in other countries, training its military in that regard, sharing of scientific research and development on nuclear warheads and transfer of nuclear technology and material to non parties to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty in the Middle East.

JOANNE ADAMSON, United Kingdom, said that colleagues referred to Mr. Jazairy as ‘the lion of the Conference on Disarmament’, and paid tribute to his work, adding that Algeria’s commitment was most recently seen at the Biological Weapons Conference of 2011.

LAURA KENNEDY, United States, said that Mr. Jazairy would always be known for his capabilities across the board, not least in producing CD/1864, and thanked him for taking a leading role at the Biological Weapons Convention in December 2011. Mr. Jazairy had been a sage leader, an activist and a committed international servant, and would be greatly missed by the Conference. Regarding the ‘monolithic approach to Disarmament’ as referred to in a previous statement; the United States had a policy aligned with the International Atomic Energy Agency. Of course any country was entitled to pursue the use of peaceful nuclear energy, Ms. Kennedy said, and referred to the announcement by the United States Secretary of State of the contribution of US$50 million to that end. Yet rights came with responsibilities, and non-proliferation was important. President Obama had worked second to none in pledging his Government to the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.

SYNDOLPH P ENDONI, Nigeria, paid tribute to Ambassador Jazairy and said he was a ‘diplomat par excellence’ who had impacted positively on distinguished colleagues in the Conference, and congratulated him on a successful tour of duty.


For use of the information media; not an official record

DC12/010E