DC/2715

FIVE NUCLEAR-WEAPON POWERS SHOULD LAUNCH COMPREHENSIVE, PHASED DISARMAMENT PROGRAMME, DISARMAMENT COMMISSION TOLD

The five nuclear-weapon Powers should launch a comprehensive, forward-based, phased disarmament programme without artificial delays or other tactics, the representative of the Russian Federation told the Disarmament Commission this afternoon, as it continued its general debate.

He said it was important for States to be an organic part of a democratic, peaceful world order based on global trust. Earlier this year, the Russian Federation had ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and was ready to begin negotiations on the prohibition and destruction of fissile materials. It had already stopped producing weapons-grade uranium and had embarked on a programme to close down facilities producing weapons-grade plutonium.

The viability of the Anti-Ballistic Missile (ABM) Treaty would determine the extension of the arms race to outer space and prevent the manufacture of outer space-based anti-missile weapons, he said. Among other recommendations, the Russian Government had proposed a global system to monitor the prevalence of missile systems, the practical implementation of which would represent a step forward in disarmament efforts.

China�s representative said that practical confidence-building measures could not be established overnight, as conventional disarmament involved various national security-related issues. Confidence-building measures should be established through a phased approach. A national defence policy could be pursued while keeping armaments at a reasonable level without jeopardizing the stability and security of other countries.

He said China supported the negotiation and conclusion of a fissile material cut-off treaty. The three major disarmament issues -� nuclear disarmament, prevention of an arms race in outer space and the missile cut-off treaty -� should be equally dealt with by the Conference on Disarmament.

Also speaking this afternoon were the representatives of Bangladesh, Ukraine and Belarus.

The Disarmament Commission will meet again at 10 p.m. tomorrow, 27 June, to continue its general debate.

Disarmament Commission - 2 - Press Release DC/2715 235th Meeting (PM) 26 June 2000

Commission Work Programme

The Disarmament Commission met this afternoon to continue its 2000 substantive session.

Statements

SHAMIM AHMED (Bangladesh) said his country had signed the Comprehensive Nuclear Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) on 24 October 1996 and ratified it earlier this year. However, Bangladesh�s major concern had been, and continued to be, the heavy financial obligations devolving on it and other least developed countries on account of the Treaty�s implementation. Those comprised the expenses of its Preparatory Commission, the CTBT Organization (CTBTO), and the verification regime, including the International Monitoring System of the CTBT and the Technical Secretariat.

As the coordinator of the least developed countries, Bangladesh had already voiced concern over the matter since the first CTBT preparatory committee in New York and at the recent Vienna meeting, he said. A mechanism was necessary to relieve the least developed countries of that heavy burden without jeopardizing the Treaty�s implementation.

In the field of conventional arms, he said his country had already provided necessary information for inclusion in the United Nations Arms Register and would continue to do so in future. The abundant and ready supply of easy-to-use tools of conflict, weapons of death and disability was responsible for the estimated 90 per cent of all conflict-related deaths and injuries, of which 80 per cent were women and children. The problem had been exacerbated by the absence of global norms or standards for reduction of such accumulation, transfer and trafficking.

He was disappointed that despite repeated requests both in the Disarmament Commission and in the Committee on Disarmament, the Asia and Pacific Centre for Peace and Development had not been moved to its location in Katmandu, Nepal, and was being run from New York. That anomalous practice did not stand to reason, and Bangladesh again urged the Department of Disarmament Affairs to look into the matter with greater urgency.

SERGEY LAVROV (Russian Federation) said all five nuclear-weapon Powers should launch a comprehensive, forward-based, phased programme for disarmament without artificial delays or other tactics. It was important for States to be an organic part of a democratic, peaceful world order based on global trust. As had been underscored at the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Conference, his country was attached to the commitments related to nuclear disarmament and intended to follow through on those goals in the future for the preservation of nuclear stability. The more relevant treaties were strengthened, the stronger would be the foundation for disarmament.

He recalled that earlier in the year his country had ratified the CTBT, among other instruments. By dint of those major practical steps, he said, the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START II) could be implemented and negotiations on START III could begin -- fostering radical new arms reductions. The American partners of the Russian Federation could assist in that process. It was timely and useful to begin negotiations on nuclear disarmament using a concrete time frame. The State was ready to begin negotiations for the prohibition and destruction of fissile materials. It had already stopped producing weapons-grade Uranium and started on a programme to close down facilities that produced weapons- grade plutonium, among others.

He stated that the viability of the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti- Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM Treaty) would also determine the extension of the arms race in outer space. Its negotiations would prevent the manufacture of outer space weapons, particularly anti-missile ones. At its fifty-fourth session, the General Assembly had underscored the necessity of the Treaty, as its downfall would impact all parts of the world and water down all relevant disarmament treaties. The Russian Federation Government had made a proposal for a global system to monitor the prevalence of missile systems, among other recommendations, and their practical implementation would represent a step forward for disarmament efforts.

Earlier this year, a proposal had been made to launch a joint American- Russian missile warning centre, he continued, pointing out that the Russian Federation had already removed such weapons from sea-going vessels and land-based navy vessels. Another important initiative had been narrowing the geographic scope of nuclear zones. Nuclear weapons should be concentrated within the confines of the nuclear Powers.

The European treaty on conventional arms could be used to influence the disarmament process, and the Russian Federation supported widespread cooperation in getting rid of small and light weapons, in particular, he said. It was also essential to develop general approaches aimed at timely supports of conflicts, as well as to help States confront the problems of the illegal arms trade by harmonizing national legislation and regulations to bring them in line with those already in operation.

SHEN GUOFANG (China) said, against the backdrop of hegemony and power politics, international arms control and disarmament efforts have suffered setbacks. The refusal by a certain country to ratify the CTBT had cast doubts over the instrument�s entry into force. Moreover, that country, disregarding strong international opposition, was intensifying efforts to develop national and theatre missile-defence systems to the detriment of global strategic equilibrium and regional stability.

Cooperation was essential for progress in international disarmament efforts, he said. All countries should accommodate each other�s security concerns and abandon unilateralism and hegemony. Also, all nations should respect and abide by international arms control and disarmament instruments.

Since the last session, there had been new developments in the field of nuclear disarmament, he continued, including the ratification of START II and the CTBT by the Russian Federation. That would give new impetus to the nuclear disarmament process, and START III negotiations must be initiated as soon as possible. Irreversibility was a basic guiding principle for nuclear disarmament. The nuclear warheads reduced because of disarmament agreements should be destroyed immediately. In addition, prevention of nuclear weapons proliferation was necessary, and the recent NPT Review Conference demonstrated the common will of the international community against nuclear proliferation. China had always advocated comprehensive prohibition and thorough destruction of nuclear weapons, and believed that nuclear-weapon States should not use or threaten to use those weapons against States that did not produce them or in nuclear-weapon-free zones.

China also supported the negotiation and conclusion of a fissile material cut-off treaty, he said. Moreover, when a country pursued the development of a missile-defence system with outer space as its important base, prevention of an arms race in outer space took precedence over negotiation of the treaty. The three major disarmament issues �- nuclear disarmament, prevention of an arms race in outer space, and the missile cut-off treaty -� should be equally dealt with by the Conference on Disarmament.

He stated that practical confidence-building measures could not be established overnight, as conventional disarmament involved varying issues concerning national security. The stalemate of the nuclear disarmament process between the two major nuclear Powers and the development and proliferation of missile-defence systems that might also trigger an arms race in outer space also contributed to the lack of progress in conventional disarmament. Confidence- building measures should be established by using a phased approach, and certain principles could be explored, such as pursuing a national defence policy with armaments being kept at a reasonable level without jeopardizing the stability and security of other countries.

VALERI KUCHYNSKI (Ukraine) expressed the hope that the United States would follow the Russian Federation by ratifying the START II and the New York package of agreements to the ABM Treaty by the Russian Parliament very soon. It was imperative to ensure the implementation of START II and to resume talks on START III.

He emphasized that further strategic offensive arms limitation and the maintenance of strategic stability in the world depended on preserving that Treaty. As a party to the ABM Treaty, Ukraine noted the important role played by the two leading nuclear Powers -� the United States and the Russian Federation -� in that Treaty, and fully realized that its fate would depend primarily upon their position on its possible adaptation to the new realities.

The necessity of improving and strengthening the existing international nuclear non-proliferation regime remained one of the most burning issues of the day, he stressed. One of the best ways to achieve that was to enhance the efficiency of the NPT and to make it universal. His country continued to call upon all States that were not parties to the NPT to sign it, and remained convinced that the enlargement of the �nuclear club� was unacceptable.

He said that one of the main problems in the sphere of small arms and light weapons was the illegal trade in them and their spread. Preventive measures demanded coordinated multilateral efforts and a thorough study of the political, military and economic aspects of the legitimate defence and security needs of particular States.

He supported the basic measures developed by the European Union focused on providing for efficient export/import licensing of small arms and light weapons and combating illicit trafficking, he said. Ukraine also supported Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) activity aimed at preventing the destabilizing effects of proliferation. The country was exercising a responsible policy on the supply of military goods to the international market.

ALYAKSANDR SYCHOV (Belarus) said that the CTBT needed to have a universal character and, to that end, the five nuclear Powers should make a compromise. Belarus had been the first country to reject a nuclear option, and that country needed the reassurance of an international commitment. The country also supported a legally binding treaty that would reassure non-nuclear-weapon States. He stressed that an important component in supporting international strategic stability was the ratification by the Russian Federation of START II and the recent agreements made by that State and the United States. However, he was concerned about efforts to defy the ABM Treaty. It was essential to begin negotiations towards the prohibition and manufacture of arms. Disarmament could only be supplemented by steps that would be respected by everyone.

He stated that the relevant treaties all pointed to a solution to the proliferation of arms, as did the initiative of Middle East countries to establish a nuclear-free zone in that area. The time would come when current political considerations, which impeded the efforts of Central and Eastern Europe for disarmament, would become irrelevant. The principles of nuclear disarmament, such as transparency and legally binding instruments, among others, should determine the thrust of efforts by the international community. Under the conditions of increased regional and national conflicts, disarmament efforts remained paramount. The OSCE provided a very effective model for cooperation in the countries. Furthermore, Belarus had undertaken an initiative, under the European treaty, which accounted for 10 per cent of all heavy arms production.

* *** *

United Nations