CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT HOLDS FIRST PLENARY UNDER THE PRESIDENCY OF RUSSIA
The Conference on Disarmament this morning held its first public plenary under the Presidency of Ambassador Alexey Borodavkin of the Russian Federation, hearing statements by New Zealand, Chile, Austria, China, Myanmar, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and Belarus.
Ambassador Alexey Borodavkin of the Russian Federation, incoming President of the Conference on Disarmament, expressed the gratitude of the Russian delegation to all the diplomats who had expressed their condolences to Russia on the death of Ambassador Vitaly Churkin, Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations in New York, who had been a leader in Russian diplomacy and whose death was a severe blow to all. Outlining his plans for the Russian Presidency of the Conference, Ambassador Borodavkin hoped that the establishment of the working group on the way ahead would make an additional contribution and that the Conference would be successful in emerging from the stagnation. He had had a meeting with the Chair of the working group. The positive dynamic from the last session should not be bogged down and Russia intended to focus as a priority on developing a balanced programme of work and would act in a highly transparent manner in seeking consensus. Today, Russia planned to hold informal consultations on a programme of work following the plenary, time permitting.
Michael Møller, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, offered condolences on behalf of himself and colleagues at the United Nations Office at Geneva for the untimely death of Vitaly Churkin, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations in New York. Mr. Churkin had been a giant among diplomats and would be missed by all at the United Nations and by colleagues in New York. Other speakers also offered their condolences on the passing of Ambassador Churkin.
New Zealand believed that if the Conference was to regain its reputation and credibility and to justify the considerable resources expended on it, it would need to be engaged on issues that met the priority concerns and problems facing the global community.
Chile, referring to the latest ballistic missile launch by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, said such actions jeopardized the stability of the Korean Peninsula, led to tensions in Asia and flagrantly violated United Nations resolutions. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was urged to abstain from its belligerent actions and to return to the six party talks.
Austria hoped that the adoption of the decision under the Romanian Presidency last week on the working group on the way forward would be the first step in a process that would lead to negotiations in the Conference. Austria hoped that with flexibility and creativity, the Conference would deliver results and overcome the stalemate.
China said the establishment of the working group on the way forward to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth assessment and planning for the Conference’s work, to streamline and take stock of existing problems, and to explore for a point of breakthrough was both very timely and necessary.
Myanmar said that as co-Chair of the working group on the way forward, Myanmar intended to invite all to attend informal consultations so that delegations could express their views. These consultations would be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, 24 February in the Council Chamber. After finishing the first round of consultations, Myanmar would work with the President of the Conference to consider the next plausible step.
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea said it could not but interpret Chile’s remarks as the expression of an attitude blatantly following the hostile forces against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with no clear knowledge on the essence of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula.
Belarus said it favoured a decrease in nuclear arsenals and invited all to take part in a commemorative event on Wednesday, 1 March at 1 p.m. at the Geneva Centre for Security and Diplomacy to discuss issues on nuclear disarmament.
The next public plenary of the Conference will be held on Monday, 27 January, at a time that will be provided by the secretariat in due course, to start the annual high-level segment of the Conference, which coincides with the high-level segment of the Human Rights Council.
Statements
Ambassador ALEXEY BORODAVKIN of the Russian Federation, Incoming President of the Conference on Disarmament, said it was an honour for Russia to take over the Presidency of the Conference on Disarmament. He gave the floor to Michael Møller, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, who wished to offer his condolences on the untimely passing of Vitaly Churkin, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations in New York.
MICHAEL MØLLER, Director-General of the United Nations Office at Geneva, offered condolences on behalf of himself and colleagues at the United Nations Office at Geneva for the untimely death of Vitaly Churkin, the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations in New York. Mr. Churkin had been a giant among diplomats and would be missed by all at the United Nations and by colleagues in New York.
Ambassador ALEXEY BORODAVKIN of the Russian Federation, Incoming President of the Conference on Disarmament, expressed the gratitude of the Russian delegation to all the diplomats who had expressed their condolences to Russia on the death of Ambassador Churkin, who had been a leader in Russian diplomacy and whose death was a severe blow to all.
Ambassador Borodavkin said Togo had requested to participate in the 2017 session of the Conference on Disarmament as an observer and the request was approved.
Ambassador Borodavkin outlined his plans for the Russian Presidency of the Conference. Thanks to the Romanian Presidency and the establishment of the working group on the way ahead, he hoped this would make an additional contribution and that the Conference would be successful in emerging from the stagnation. He had had a meeting with the Chair of the working group. The launch of the working group would not allow the President of the Conference to sit back but would make the Presidency move towards agreeing on a programme of work. The positive dynamic from the last session should not be bogged down and Russia intended to focus as a priority on developing a balanced programme of work and would act in a highly transparent manner in seeking consensus. Today, Russia planned to hold informal consultations on a programme of work following the plenary, time permitting. New ideas were as necessary as the air they all breathed. An informal meeting would be held at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 22 February in the Council Chamber in commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Second Hague Conference on Peace. Russia thanked the Netherlands and the secretariat of the Conference for their assistance in organizing this event.
New Zealand offered its condolences for the passing of Ambassador Churkin. New Zealand believed that if the Conference was to regain its reputation and credibility and to justify the considerable resources expended on it, it would need to be engaged on issues that met the priority concerns and problems facing the global community. This required that the Conference again fulfilled its negotiating mandate on a relevant and significant disarmament issue and not one that was already served by existing legal instruments or that was better addressed in alternative fora. New Zealand failed to see the justification of the limited membership of the Conference and its exclusion of States that sought the opportunity to work on the issues under its purview. New Zealand wished to briefly survey a number of key issues which it would be actively engaged in. It looked forward to the nuclear weapon prohibition negotiations which would get underway next month at the United Nations in New York. New Zealand’s constructive participation in the negotiations was not the only way in which it would seek to strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and advance a nuclear weapon free world. This year marked the commencement of the review cycle that would culminate in the 2020 Review Conference and both nationally and through its membership of the New Agenda Coalition, the De-Alerting Group and the Vienna Group of Ten, New Zealand would work actively to ensure that this cornerstone of its global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime was stable and strong. New Zealand was also committed to ensuring success in newer regimes, like the Arms Trade Treaty. It was also proud to have been able to provide an early contribution to the Treaty’s Voluntary Trust Fund. New Zealand continued in the role of Coordinator for National Implementation Measures under the Convention on Cluster Munitions and the strong international humanitarian law standard that it set. The imperative of improving the protection of civilians in situations of armed conflict was properly in focus in last December’s Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. New Zealand welcomed the decision to move forward on the issue of lethal autonomous weapons systems and the recognition given there to other pressing humanitarian issues, including the use of explosive weapons with wide area effects in densely populated areas and the question of incendiary weapons.
Chile offered its condolences for the regrettable passing of Ambassador Churkin whose diplomatic presence would be missed in New York and the diplomatic arena in general. Chile wished to refer to an issue of concern to the entire international community, which was the latest ballistic missile launch by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea. The actions of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea jeopardized the stability of the Korean Peninsula, led to tensions in Asia and flagrantly violated United Nations resolutions, which banned the country from carrying out nuclear tests and conducting launches using ballistic missiles. The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea was urged to abstain from its belligerent actions and to return to the six party talks. It should also regularize its situation with the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and place its nuclear facilities under the International Atomic Energy Agency. For Chile, possessing nuclear weapons could not be a source of prestige or pride. Chile had voiced its concerns about the latest actions of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, but it wished to stress that the only sustainable way to tackle the nuclear threat was through the prohibition and elimination of all nuclear weapons.
Austria expressed its sincere condolences on the untimely passing of Ambassador Vitaly Churkin of Russia to the United Nations in New York. Austria also expressed its concern about the ongoing state of the Conference on Disarmament as this was the twenty-first year of the deplorable stalemate. The international community had created the Conference on Disarmament in the 1970s and even then had been well aware of the challenges. Austria hoped that the adoption of the decision under the Romanian Presidency last week on the working group on the way forward would be the first step in a process that would lead to negotiations. Austria hoped that with flexibility and creativity, the Conference would deliver results and overcome the stalemate. However, the establishment of the working group could not substitute the Conference’s main aim, which was to negotiate. Austria had welcomed cuts in nuclear arsenals in the past, but these had slowed down recently. Proliferation posed the top security threat to the world today and nuclear disarmament needed a strong new impulse. Austria continued to be a strong supporter of early commencement of negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty. The only absolute guarantee against nuclear weapons was their prohibition and total elimination. Many countries supported the General Assembly resolution which mandated the first inclusive multilateral nuclear disarmament negotiations in decades, starting March 27, on a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons. The negotiations would be conducted in an open, transparent and inclusive manner. This year marked the beginning of a new Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review cycle. Austria remained committed to the NPT as the cornerstone of the international nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime. Legal prohibition was the first step to ensure international security today which faced serious threats.
China expressed condolences for the untimely passing of the Permanent Representative of Russia to the United Nations in New York. His passing was a great loss for Russia and the international diplomatic community. China welcomed the adoption of the decision on establishing the working group on the way ahead. As the sole negotiating mechanism for multilateral disarmament, the importance of the Conference on Disarmament was self-evident and increasing. Regrettably, the Conference had not conducted substantive work for 21 consecutive years. Therefore, the establishment of the working group on the way forward to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth assessment and planning for the Conference’s work, to streamline and take stock of existing problems, and to explore for a point of breakthrough was both very timely and necessary. In this regard, China would like to share some preliminary ideas. First, they needed to forge consensus in the spirit of seeking common ground while keeping differences. Secondly, they should keep up with the times and continuously update the agenda of the Conference. They should give full play to the potential of traditional items and constantly add new elements in line with the characteristics of the times. Thirdly, they should keep an open mind and steadily increase the universality of the Conference. Obviously, the current composition of the membership of the Conference was a far cry from the reality of international politics and security and China believed that allowing all United Nations members to participate in the work of the Conference as full members may be a good solution with multiple benefits. These were some of China’s preliminary food for thought, which hopefully would induce better ideas from others.
Myanmar joined all in expressing deep condolences for the passing of Ambassador Vitaly Churkin. As co-Chair of the working group on the way forward, Myanmar intended to invite all to attend informal consultations so that delegations could express their views. These consultations would be held at 10 a.m. on Friday, 24 February in the Council Chamber. Next week, delegations would be busy with the high-level segment of the Human Rights Council, but he would hold bilateral consultations with interested delegations in the first week of March at a time which would be confirmed later. After finishing the first round of consultations, he would work with the President of the Conference to consider the next plausible step. He hoped that together they would be able to do something meaningful this year in the Conference on Disarmament.
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea regretted the lengthy remarks from Chile, saying that his delegation could not but interpret that this was the expression of an attitude blatantly following the hostile forces against the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with no clear knowledge on the essence of the nuclear issue on the Korean Peninsula. The position of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea on its self-defence measures were well known and he had expressed them on several occasions, so he would not repeat them again.
Chile regretted the remarks by the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea which compelled it to take the floor once more. Chile had always denounced violations of relevant Security Council resolutions and was not applying double standards. Chile believed that no one should possess nuclear weapons and reiterated its appeal to renew dialogue and urged States to make all efforts to find a peaceful solution to the problem of the nuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.
Belarus said the passing of Ambassador Vitaly Churkin was a major loss. One of the key priorities of Belarus was complete nuclear disarmament. It had demonstrated leadership on this matter when it turned its back on a nuclear arsenal. Belarus favoured a decrease in nuclear arsenals and invited all to take part in a commemorative event on Wednesday, 1 March at 1 p.m. at the Geneva Centre for Security and Diplomacy to discuss issues on nuclear disarmament.
Ambassador ALEXEY BORODAVKIN of the Russian Federation, Incoming President of the Conference on Disarmament, reminded that the Conference would hold an informal meeting at 3 p.m. tomorrow in the Council Chamber in commemoration of the 110th anniversary of the Second Hague Conference on Peace. He hoped to make the most efficient use of the time available during Russia’s Presidency and would start consultations on a programme of work immediately following this plenary in an informal setting. The next public plenary of the Conference would be held on Monday, 27 January at a time that would be provided by the secretariat in due course.
For use of the information media; not an official record
DC17/007E