GA/DIS/3169

WORLD ‘AWASH WITH ARMS’ SAYS UNDER-SECRETARY-GENERAL FOR DISARMAMENT AS FIRST COMMITTEE BEGINS GENERAL DEBATE

Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Jayantha Dhanapala, opened the general debate of the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) this morning by declaring that the world was awash with arms -- some 30,000 nuclear warheads and some 500 million small arms -- global military expenditures had started to rise, and almost half of the world‘s population lived on less than $2 per day.

“Let the tragic contrast between these numbers touch the conscience of all of us as we embark on our work,” he urged. The record in the past year was mixed. Positive developments included the agreement by the nuclear-weapon States parties to the 2000 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non- Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) to accomplish, unequivocally, the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals. On the other hand, talks continued to languish in the Conference on Disarmament on such crucial matters as a fissile material cut-off for nuclear weapons and the prevention of an arms race in outer space. On that subject, the recent decision by the United States to postpone deployment of a national missile defence system should motivate global regulation of missiles and missile proliferation, he said.

Speaking on behalf of the European Union, the representative of France said he hoped that the 1972 Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM Treaty) -- by which the United States and the Russian Federation agreed to significantly reduce the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads -- would be preserved and strengthened. The Union urged the world community to recommit itself to reducing the risk of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery. It welcomed the recent ratification by the Russian Federation of the 1993 Strategic Arms Limitation and Reduction Treaty II (START II), which is the second of two treaties by which those two countries agreed to significantly reduce the number of deployed strategic weapons.

The representative of Sweden, speaking on behalf of the countries of the New Agenda Initiative -- Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand and South Africa -– hailed the positive outcome of the 2000 NPT Review Conference. Never before had the parties reached agreement on such a broad set of measures designed to implement the Treaty, he said. There had been considerable doubt about whether the principles and objectives agreed to in the 1995 NPT Review had been “false gifts offered in exchange for the indefinite extension of the Treaty”. There were also growing doubts as to whether all of the States parties possessed the

First Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/DIS/3169 3rd Meeting (AM) 2 October 2000

necessary degree of commitment to seriously advance nuclear disarmament. Yet, at the very moment that the future of the Treaty and its non-proliferation regime had appeared to be in jeopardy, the States' parties rallied to confirm its objectives and purposes and unambiguously underpinned the global non- proliferation regime.

Also part of the New Agenda Initiative, Mexico's representative said that, despite limited progress and a less than propitious environment, the 2000 NPT Review Conference had concluded a long-awaited and positive outcome -- the unequivocal political undertaking by the nuclear-weapon States towards the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals. That had re-established the balance in the reciprocal obligations under the Treaty and had facilitated a new understanding between nuclear-weapon and non-nuclear-weapon States, as well as strengthening the nuclear non-proliferation regime. Nevertheless, the window of opportunity for disarmament and non-proliferation that had opened with the end of the cold war seemed to be closing. The climate of détente in the field of security among the nuclear-weapon Powers had eroded as a result of, among others, the war in Kosovo and the controversy surrounding anti-ballistic missile defence.

In other business, the Committee elected, by acclamation, Abdelkader Mesdoua (Algeria) to the remaining post of Vice-Chairman. The Committee Chairman requested that the Group of Eastern European States nominate a candidate for the post of Rapporteur in order to complete the Bureau.

Statements were also made by the representatives of New Zealand, Argentina, Viet Nam and Brazil. The Committee Chairman, Mya Than (Myanmar), made opening remarks.

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) will meet again at 3 p.m. on Tuesday, 3 October, to continue its general debate.

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Committee Work Programme

The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) met this morning to begin its general debate on all disarmament and international security agenda items. Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, Jayantha Dhanapala, was expected to address the meeting, as well as the delegations of France, on behalf of the European Union, and Sweden, on behalf of the New Agenda Coalition.

[The New Agenda Coalition is a group of seven countries -– Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, Sweden, New Zealand and South Africa -- which introduced a resolution, at the fifty-third General Assembly session, aimed at a nuclear- weapon-free world.]

The Committee was also expected to elect an additional member of its bureau. (For background on the general debate, see Press Release GA/DIS/3168).

Additional Reports Before Committee

The annual report on the Conference on Disarmament (document A/55/27) states that it held three sessions from 17 January to 24 March, from 22 May to 7 July, and from 7 August to 22 September. It adopted the following agenda for its 2000 session: cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament; prevention of nuclear war, including all related matters; 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 and radiological weapons; comprehensive programme of disarmament; transparency in armaments; and consideration of the adoption of the annual report and any other report to the General Assembly.

The report finds that, despite intensive consultations with a view to reaching consensus on the programme of work, the Conference did not, however, agree on the programme of work and did not re-establish or establish any mechanism on any of its specific agenda items during the year's session. The annual report includes, in an appendix, the documents and the texts issued by the Conference. An index of the verbatim records by country and subject, listing the statements made by delegations during 2000, and the verbatim records of the meetings are attached as appendix II to the report.

The Secretary-General's report on the establishment of a nuclear-weapon- free zone in the Middle East (document A/55/388) contains the views of Member States on that item, as follows: Egypt; Qatar; and the Russian Federation. The Secretary-General notes that the issue received increased attention at the recently concluded 2000 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). Measures with regard to the Middle East, particularly the implementation of the 1995 resolution on the Middle East (urging the zone's establishment at the last NPT Review) were outlined in the 2000 Review Conference's Final Document, which was adopted by consensus. Among other statements, the Conference reaffirmed the importance of the 1995 Middle East resolution and recognized that it remained valid until the goals and objectives were achieved. It also reaffirmed its endorsement of the aims and objectives of the Middle East peace process and recognized that efforts in that regard, as well as other efforts, contributed to, among other things, a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons as well as other weapons of mass destruction.

The Secretary-General’s report on the United Nations Register of Conventional Arms (document A/55/299 and Add.1) transmits the data and information received from Member States on imports and exports of conventional arms covered under the Register -- battle tanks, armored combat vehicles, large calibre artillery systems, attack helicopters, combat aircraft, warships, and missiles and missile launchers –- for the calendar year 1999. It also includes information provided by governments on procurement from national production and military holdings. Submissions were received from 87 governments.

Resolution 54/54 O of 1 December 1999, called on Member States, with a view to achieving universal participation, to provide the Secretary-General by 31 May annually with the requested data and information for the Register. It also invited Member States in a position to do so, pending further development on the Register, to provide additional information on procurement from national production and military holdings. Resolution 54/54 I asked him to also report on the early expansion of the Register and on the elaboration of practical means for the development of the Register to increase transparency related to weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, and transfers of equipment and technology directly related to their development and manufacture.

A note by the Secretary-General on the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (document A/55/267) transmits the report of the Director of the Institute for the period July 1999 to June 2000, and its proposed programme of work and estimated budget for 2000 - 2001.

According to the report, the Institute’s research programme focuses on global security and disarmament; regional security and disarmament; and human security and disarmament. In 1999-2000, it organized six meetings on global security issues and issues of relevance to the Conference on Disarmament. It also commissioned a report on fissile material inventories to provide an up-to- date account of such materials, assess national policies related to the production, disposition and verification of such materials and identify facilities and locations which might be subject to safeguards under a treaty. The completion of that report is on hold until the onset of negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament.

Also in 1999, the Institute, in response to new developments and with the support of the Secretary-General’s Advisory Board on Disarmament Matters, began a study on the situation regarding tactical nuclear weapons. That study has been carried out in collaboration with several other institutes. A workshop was hosted in Geneva by the institute as part of the study.

Statements

Committee Chairman MYA THAN (Myanmar) said that the Millennium Assembly was a propitious opportunity for rededication and resolution. It was essential to deeply reflect on the progress made so far, and then rededicate ourselves to common goals, objectives and priorities. It was also crucial to take decisive steps to resolve nuclear issues at the dawn of the new millennium. At the Millennium Summit, world leaders agreed to strive towards the elimination of weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, and end the illicit traffic in small arms. They also pledged to address other issues of arms control, including anti-personnel mines. Those constituted the broad guidelines for the Committee’s work.

He said that security perceptions were so important for all arms control and disarmament issues. Those issues –- nuclear, conventional and space weapons -- were at a crossroads. Armaments could be built up and security sought therein, or arms control and disarmament could be sought in the interest of all parties concerned, as the political and security environment permitted. The 2000 NPT Review Conference had set a good example of what could be accomplished. Prior to the Conference, a wide range of negative developments had been evident. Yet, despite those negative factors, the nuclear-weapon States, in that particular instance, had upheld broader security perceptions and demonstrated their political will and flexibility. The security perceptions and policies of Member States should be reviewed and readjusted, so that they might be more conducive to arms control and management and the maintenance of international peace and security.

A mixed record had been apparent since the fifty-fourth Assembly session, he said. One major event had happened -- the significant success of the 2000 NPT Review Conference. Prior to the Conference, there had been a wide range of negative developments in global non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament efforts. As a result, predictions for the outcome of the Conference were quite gloomy. Contrary to those predictions, however, a consensus text had been agree on key issues. For the first time in 15 years, a full consensus had been achieved in the form of the Final Document, which would serve as a sound basis for making further progress in the nuclear field. It was indeed a remarkable achievement that the States parties had been able to agree on practical steps to advance nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. The Conference had reaffirmed the Treaty’s importance as the world’s primary instrument for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament and nuclear proliferation.

The achievement of consensus at the NPT Review Conference, he said, had underscored the vital importance of nuclear disarmament and its crucial substantive link to non-proliferation. The unequivocal undertaking by nuclear- weapon States to accomplish total elimination of their nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament had strengthened their existing obligation, making explicit, for the first time, a firm commitment to the total elimination of nuclear weapons, albeit with no time frame indicated. That consensus had also indicated that the total elimination of nuclear weapons was the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. Nonetheless, there was little ground for euphoria and complacency, as crucial tests lay ahead at the forthcoming session of the Conference on Disarmament in January 2001, the forthcoming NPT Preparatory Committee meetings for the 2005 NPT Review, and other disarmament forums. Time would tell whether the nuclear-weapon States and other States parties to that Treaty would measure up to the commitments made in the Final Document. Tremendous tasks lay ahead. He hoped the pledges of the Final Document would be fulfilled expeditiously and satisfactorily.

He said that the failure of the Conference on Disarmament to agree on a programme of work had made it incumbent upon all Member States of that multilateral negotiating body to overcome the present impasse and start substantive work immediately in 2001. All Member States should demonstrate political will and maximum flexibility. The First Committee should reflect, in its draft on the report of the Conference, on the need for strong determination and commitment to agree on a programme of work. For several years, two recurrent draft resolutions, calling for the establishment of an ad hoc committee in the Conference on nuclear disarmament, had been adopted by an overwhelming majority of Member States. That would hopefully materialize at the beginning of the 2001 substantive session. The early entry into force and the effective implementation of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) was critical, and, pending that, so was a moratorium on nuclear-test explosions.

Also of immediate concern in the Conference, he said, was the negotiation of a non-discriminatory, multilateral and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for weapons purposes. Such a draft treaty should be completed within the next five years. Also important was the conclusion of adequate security assurances for non-nuclear-weapon States. It was, therefore, imperative that the Conference commence negotiations on a fissile material cut-off treaty at the beginning of its 2001 session. Also essential was the preservation of the Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM Treaty). Reports of the creation of national missile defence systems and efforts to amend that Treaty had “cast a shadow” over the future of non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament. In that connection, the decision by the President of the United States to defer that decision to the next administration was helpful and had provided a much needed opportunity for reconsideration. All States, especially those directly concerned, should seriously gage the impact of such a system’s deployment on global disarmament.

He added that the five nuclear-weapon States would make a joint statement in the Committee this week on the provision of security assurances to Mongolia, in connection with its nuclear-weapon-free status.

JAYANTHA DHANAPALA, Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, said the world was awash with arms -- some 30,000 nuclear warheads and some 500 million small arms. Global military expenditure had, for the first time since the end of the cold war, started to rise. It stood at $780 billion in 1999. Meanwhile, almost half of the world’s population lived on less than $2 per day. “Let the tragic contrast between these numbers touch the conscience of all of us as we embark on our work”, he urged.

The Secretary-General’s Millennium Report identified two important priorities -- the global elimination of nuclear weapons and progress in the control of small arms, he continued. Those themes were echoed by over 1,000 non-governmental organizations (NGOs) that participated in the “We the Peoples Millennium Forum” held in May. The Millennium Summit Declaration also stressed the need for progress in eliminating all weapons of mass destruction, ending illicit traffic in small arms and light weapons and universalizing legal norms relating to landmines. The Declaration issued after the Security Council Summit also stressed the “critical importance” of disarmament in the context of post-conflict situations. “We thus have a unique opportunity to convert this vision into reality”, he said.

Positive developments in disarmament this year included the agreement by the States parties attending the 2000 Review Conference of the NPT on practical steps to implement article VI of the treaty. The agreement included an “unequivocal undertaking” by the nuclear-weapon States to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals. However, despite persistent efforts to promote universal membership of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and of Their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention) and Convention on the Prohibition of the Development and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (Biological Weapons Convention), many States remained non-parties, he went on. Other efforts had long been underway to create a verification protocol for the Biological Weapons Convention, a goal that, once achieved, would significantly enhance international confidence in full implementation by all States of their obligations under the treaty.

He added that the failure of the Conference on Disarmament to agree on a substantive work agenda this year had also frustrated the negotiation of new international legal norms, as seen in the inability of its members to reach consensus on terms for multilateral negotiations on nuclear disarmament, the prevention of an arms race in outer space and the fissile materials treaty. Efforts to conclude a treaty on negative security assurances continued to languish in that forum. Turning to missile defence, he said that the world welcomed the recent decision by the United States to postpone the deployment of a national missile defence system. Efforts must now continue to develop multilateral norms governing existing missile arsenals ands global missile proliferation threat, while preserving the ABM Treaty as the “cornerstone of strategic stability”.

Two important United Nations tools for transparency and confidence- building in the field of conventional arms continued to show signs of stagnation and even regression in the face of the reluctance by many States to make use of them, he stated. An expert group had been examining ways to increase participation in the Register of Conventional Arms. Many countries had also not used the standardized reporting instrument for military expenditures. At this time of rising military budgets, it had become all the more important to have reliable information about the scope of that particular problem. The destruction of over 1,000 small arms in the “Flame de la Paix” in Agadez, Niger, along with the moratorium on the import, export or manufacture of light weapons announced two years ago by the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS), illustrated some of the progressive disarmament activities underway in West Africa. The Department of Disarmament Affairs, along with United Nations Development Programme, proposed to embark on a weapons-for-development programme for which the assistance of the donor community was urgently needed, he added.

“Today, it is increasingly apparent that disarmament pays dividends that can serve virtually all the purposes and objectives under the Charter”, he said. “In the years to come, as disarmament gradually becomes increasingly mainstreamed as a fundamental United Nations activity -- as I hope it will -- the impact and importance of the deliberations in this Committee will only grow as a natural result.” The ultimate sustainability of disarmament depended not just on the ideals it inspired, but on the practical results it delivered.

ANTONIO DE ICAZA (Mexico) said that despite limited progress and a less than propitious environment, the 2000 NPT Review Conference had concluded a long-awaited and positive outcome -- the unequivocal political undertaking by the nuclear-weapon States towards the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals. That had re-established the balance in the reciprocal obligations under the Treaty and had facilitated a new understanding between nuclear-weapon and non-nuclear-weapon States, as well as strengthening the nuclear non- proliferation regime. That undertaking must be demonstrated through an accelerated process of negotiation and the adoption of practical steps towards a nuclear-weapon-free world.

The Final Document had listed some of those steps, he said. Others included non-first-use commitments by the nuclear-weapon States; legally binding negative security assurances against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear-weapon States; and the de-alerting and removal of nuclear warheads from their delivery systems. For now, the NPT’s action programme must be fully implemented.

He said the Final Document of the sixth NPT Conference had recognized that nuclear-weapon-free zones, on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at among the States of the region concerned, had enhanced global and regional peace and security, strengthened the nuclear non-proliferation regime and contributed towards the objectives of nuclear disarmament, namely a nuclear-weapon-free world. The consolidation of those regimes should be promoted. Hopefully, the States of Central Asia would soon conclude such a treaty. He also supported the consolidation of a nuclear-weapon-free southern hemisphere and adjacent areas, the geographical extent of which would increase as new nuclear-weapon-free zones were established, especially in such tension-filled areas as the Middle East and South Asia.

He said his delegation would table a draft resolution urging all States that had not yet done so to sign and ratify the CTBT, and urge all States, meanwhile, to maintain their moratoriums on nuclear-weapon test explosions, pending the Treaty’s entry into force. Concerning chemical weapons, his country was committed to the total elimination of all weapons of mass destruction, and in that regard, looked forward to the prompt conclusion of a “relationship agreement” between the United Nations and the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons.

Regarding biological weapons, he said that 2001 marked the deadline, specified in the mandate of the Ad Hoc Group of the States Parties to the Biological Weapons Convention, to conclude negotiation of a protocol on verification of compliance. The Committee should promote, coordinate and review cooperation activities among States parties in that regard. Despite the identification of the major pending issues and the accelerated consultation process, it had not yet been possible to achieve agreement on key aspects of the protocol, including transparency visits, inspection triggers, biological agent production and stockpiling thresholds, and dual-use technology transfers. The protocol should completely fulfil the mandate of the Ad Hoc Group and consider the priorities of different States that had participated in the negotiations.

He said he had followed, with no small concern the differences arising from the development and deployment of anti-ballistic missile defence systems. That issue had also recently eroded détente between the nuclear-weapon States. He had recognized the historical important of the 1972 ABM Treaty, which was considered indispensable to the gradual process of nuclear-weapon reduction, based on the principle of undiminished security for all parties in the negotiations. He also recognized that “archaic doctrines of deterrence and mutual assured destruction no longer made sense and must be abandoned”.

It was also true, however, that in the last decades, justifiable concerns on the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery means had surfaced, he said. Thus, negotiations should address both the new concerns and the need to preserve strategic stability. The announcement of the postponement by the United States of a decision to deploy a national anti-ballistic missile defence system had opened the possibility for such negotiations. Developments relating to the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery means affected the security of all States. Both multilateral and regional initiatives designed to deal with that problem in a comprehensive manner should be promoted.

On the question of small arms, he said he supported the convening of a United Nations conference on the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons in all its aspects. The regional experiences in combating the illicit trafficking in and manufacture of those weapons had provided the international community with the necessary basis to reach an agreement on an action programme. Such a document should contain the following measures, among others: strengthened national legislation; arms marking; exporting; importing and transit licenses; arms record-keeping; information exchange; technical cooperation and assistance; and a review mechanism of the commitments taken at the conference.

The window of opportunity for disarmament and non-proliferation that had opened with the end of the cold war seemed to be closing, he said. The climate of détente and of growing confidence in the field of security among the nuclear- weapon Powers had eroded as a result of the war in Kosovo and the controversy surrounding anti-ballistic missile defence systems. Negotiations on the reduction of strategic nuclear weapons had come to a standstill, the multilateral disarmament negotiations forum was paralysed and military expenditures worldwide had begun to increase, after a decade of important reductions.

HUBERT DE LA FORTELLE (France) spoke on behalf of the European Union, and the associated countries of Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Lettonie, Estonia, Hungary, Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Slovak Republic, Malta, Cyprus and Norway. He said that the risk of the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and its delivery systems was a fundamental problem. The international community should recommit itself to the fight against their proliferation and to the support of disarmament. The NPT remained a cornerstone for the non- proliferation of nuclear arms and the deep pursuit of nuclear disarmament. States that had not yet signed and ratified the CTBT should do so without any further delay. All Union members had done so.

The Union fully endorsed efforts by the preparatory committee for the CTBT so that the Treaty verification regime could enter into force as soon as possible, he said. The Union remained committed to the position that the Conference on Disarmament was the only forum for multilateral negotiations on disarmament. He welcomed the recent ratification of the 1993 Strategic Arms Limitation and Reduction Treaty II (START II) by Russia. He hoped that the Treaty and its 1997 protocol would enter into force in the near future for implementation within a planned time frame. The Union also hoped that negotiations on a future START III would commence and that the ABM Treaty would be preserved and strengthened.

Noting the high level of tension in South Asia, the Union urged the countries of the region to do their utmost to stop a nuclear arms race in the region, he said. It urged India and Pakistan not to resume nuclear testing. The Union also expressed support for the establishment in the Middle East of a zone totally free of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems. All States of the region should conclude with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) an agreement for full guarantees. The Union also awaited the entry into force of the Treaty of Pelindaba for a nuclear-weapon-free zones in Africa. It urged Iraq to give full cooperation to a new inspection commission and to the IAEA. It should also provide necessary access to implement the Security Council mandate. The Union expressed concerned that a large number of signatories had yet to ratify the Chemical Weapons Convention and called on non- parties to ratify and accede to it as soon as possible.

On small arms, he said that the overstockpiling of small and light weapons was a source of destabilization. He advocated a wide-ranging general scope for the international conference on small arms and light weapons. It should be a means to combating and eliminating stockpiling to reducing existing weapons stocks to levels compatible with national security needs. Those decisions could be in the form of a programme of action and should address issues from a social and economic standpoint. The Union endorsed the candidacy of Sir Michael Westin for the chairmanship of that Conference. On the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Reduction and Transfer of Anti-personnel Landmines (Ottawa Convention), the Union welcomed the large number of signatories and called on States to bring about the total elimination of landmines. It would continue to call on producing countries to put an end to exports.

HENRIK SALANDER (Sweden) spoke on behalf of the countries of the New Agenda Initiative -- Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden. Turning to the Final Document of the 2000 NPT Review Conference, he said that never before had the parties reached agreement on such a broad set of measures designed to achieve the Treaty’s implementation. Such a result could not have been foreseen, given the diverging approaches and perspectives in the years preceding the Review Conference.

He said that a “body blow” was dealt the nuclear non-proliferation regime by the nuclear tests in South Asia in 1998. There also appeared to be considerable doubt about whether the principles and objectives agreed to in 1995 had been “false gifts offered in exchange for the indefinite extension of the Treaty”. There were also growing doubts as to whether all of the States parties possessed the necessary degree of commitment to seriously advance nuclear disarmament.

Yet, he said, at the very moment the future of the Treaty and its non- proliferation regime had appeared to be in jeopardy, the States parties demonstrated a singular and common purposefulness. They rallied to confirm the objectives and purposes of the Treaty and unambiguously determined to underpin the global non-proliferation regime. The positive outcome of the 2000 NPT Conference had been made possible because the States parties definitely agreed to engage in nuclear disarmament as an achievable goal, without further procrastination and prevarication.

He said that the five nuclear-weapon States, for their part, entered into a far-reaching political commitment by unequivocally undertaking to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals. Thus, the nuclear-weapon States parties to the NPT had finally agreed to proceed towards the achievement of a nuclear-weapon-free world. What had hitherto been implicit had thus become explicit. That act had reinforced and revitalized the Treaty as the cornerstone of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. With that commitment, the States parties were well placed to proceed with achieving the shared objective of a world free of nuclear weapons.

Many of the measures included in the outcome document were already well rehearsed, he went on. What was novel and unprecedented was the recognition that all issues relating to the nuclear disarmament process, including questions of a diminishing role for nuclear weapons and reducing their operational status, were recognized as the concern of all States parties and had, for the first time, been jointly addressed by them, even if the implementation of steps to give effect to such undertakings lay primarily with the States directly concerned.

He said that the stalemate in the Conference on Disarmament, on such key negotiations as a fissile material cut-off treaty and legally binding security assurances for non-nuclear-weapon States, could not be allowed to continue. So, where did the global disarmament and non-proliferation regime currently stand? he asked. “The patient is not cured, but a diagnosis has been made and a remedy prescribed.”

The countries of the New Agenda Initiative would introduce a draft resolution reflecting the outcome of the recent Review Conference, he said. It would be set in the context of the commitment made by the nuclear-weapon States and would accept the compromises that all parties made to achieve a common purpose and a common future agenda. It would anticipate the achievement of an instrument or set of instruments required to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons. It would offer no illusory fixes, but it would promise a consistent scrutiny of progress achieved and of any opportunities squandered.

CLIVE WALLACE PEARSON (New Zealand) said that the inventory of unfinished business in disarmament remained depressingly long. It included the entry into force of the CTBT, the faltering pace of the negotiations on the Biological Weapons Protocol, adherence to IAEA additional protocols, negotiating of a ban on the production of fissile materials, further movement on the START process, completion of the ratification of nuclear-weapon-free zones, and universality of the Chemical Weapons Convention in all regions. While progress was made at the Millennium Summit in consolidating support for existing treaties, repeated calls for action required a better response.

An ongoing priority for New Zealand this year would be working with its New Agenda partners in tabling a resolution that sought to underpin the NPT outcome, he continued. The country would be working closely with Australia, Mexico and Japan on a CTBT resolution calling for the early implementation of that Treaty, and with Brazil in co-sponsoring a resolution on a nuclear-weapon- free southern hemisphere. To ensure that the protocol to the Biological Weapons Convention would be an effective watchdog against bio-warfare proliferation, it should have the prerequisites of “a sensitive nose to sniff proliferators out, a loud bark to alert the international community and, when necessary, a sufficient bite to deter those who would cheat the prohibitions of the Convention”. New Zealand remained strongly committed to those goals and was disturbed by those who talked of compliance activities aimed at others, but persistently resisted accepting the transparency required for reciprocity to be credible.

Dealing with small arms would be a long-term exercise requiring a holistic approach, he said. The United Nations Conference next year was another step in the right direction. The most effective multilateral response might be to support action at the “sharp end,” where the laborious, but essential, task was engaging communities in tackling a problem that turned their streets into combat zones. The Conference should direct attention to existing international law. Also, New Zealand wanted to see the universalization of the Ottawa Treaty banning land mines. The international community should also re-examine the strengthening of the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed To Be Excessively Injurious or To Have Indiscriminate Effects (Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons). An issue that might be usefully addressed was how to deal with the unexploded remnants of war.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems impacted on the security of all States, he went on. The best defence lay in: accelerating the process for the total elimination of nuclear weapons; strengthening the NPT and the supporting non-proliferation regime; fully implementing the Chemical Weapons Convention; delivering a sufficiently effective compliance regime for biological weapons; implementing strict control on access to missile technology and components; and exploring other collective or multilateral options.

LUIS E. CAPPAGLI (Argentina) said that the twentieth century was a time of war and mass destruction. There had been arms races whose profits should have been siphoned off into development. It was also a time when people sought lasting peace and security and when major commitments consolidating international legal instruments had been made. Since Hiroshima and Nagasaki, the international community had been fully committed to the elimination of nuclear weapons. The parties to the NPT Review Conference had recently reaffirmed that commitment, in the form of practical steps towards the systematic endeavours that would give effect to article VI of that Treaty.

He said that those practical steps must be implemented. Especially important was the signature and ratification of the CTBT and the immediate start of negotiations within the Conference on Disarmament on a convention prohibiting the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons. The target for the new century should be universalizing such legal instruments as those regulating all weapons of mass destruction, including biological and chemical weapons. Only then would it be possible to lay the basis for mutually guaranteed security.

The overstockpiling of conventional weapons -- small arms and anti- personnel mines -- had been of concern to the disarmament community because of their effect on human safety and development, he said. The only way to ensure that efforts by the United Nations to resolve violent clashes were not thwarted was by addressing the question of the tools of violence, which daily affected the lives of millions of people, particularly women and children. The forthcoming international conference on small arms was thus a high priority. In addition, the problem caused by anti-personnel mines was far from resolved. At least the international community had taken substantive steps towards a settlement of that question, mainly through the Ottawa Convention. It was more complex now, than in the past, to maintain international peace and security. Nonetheless, a “standstill” was no answer. In the words of former United States General Dwight Eisenhower, an armed world was not just spending money on weapons, it was wasting the sweat of its workers, the brilliance of its scientific people and squandering the hopes of its children.

NGUYEN THANH CHAU (Viet Nam) on behalf of the Association of South-East Asian Nations (ASEAN), said that the issues of nuclear weapons and the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons were the highest priorities on the agenda of the United Nations in the field of arms control and disarmament. Greater and more vigorous efforts were needed to free mankind from the menace of nuclear weapons in the twenty-first century. All nuclear-weapon States should support steady and systematic measures to eliminate nuclear weapons. He endorsed the proposal to convene an international conference to identify ways and means to achieve those lofty goals within a specified time frame.

He also endorsed the International Court of Justice ruling that the threat of the use of nuclear weapons would generally be contrary to the rules of international law that were applicable in armed conflicts and the conclusion that it was incumbent upon States to pursue, in good faith, negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control.

The proliferation of missiles in several parts of the world did not bode well for global security, stability and peace, he continued. States should exercise the utmost restraint in the development, testing, deployment and transfers of ballistic missiles and other delivery means of weapons of mass destruction. The world community should take appropriate steps to develop effective legal norms against the proliferation of those weapons systems and recognize the need for a universal, comprehensive and non-discriminatory approach towards missiles, as a contribution to international peace and

security. He further supported the efforts of Member States to set up nuclear- weapon-free zones. In South-East Asia, a nuclear-weapon-free zone had been firmly established. That non-proliferation regime constituted a milestone and contributed considerably to the enhancement of peace, security and stability in the region.

He shared the concerns of the world community over the adverse impacts of small arms on the lives of civilians and children in various armed conflicts. He supported the effort to find ways to address the issue, including the convening of a United Nations conference on the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons. Efforts to address the issue should take into account the right of States to take measures in self-defence in accordance with the United Nations Charter, as well as the specific circumstances of different regions of the world.

LUIZ DE ARAUJO CASTRO (Brazil) said that the unequivocal commitment made by the nuclear-weapon States at the 2000 NPT Review Conference to eliminate their nuclear arsenals was a milestone, which would be a litmus test of future nuclear disarmament progress. As a member of the New Agenda Coalition, his country was proud to have contributed to the positive outcome of that meeting. The Agenda’s draft resolution to the First Committee would hopefully enjoy similar wide support.

He said that the experience of the Conference on Disarmament had underscored the urgency of reinforcing the multilateral machinery of disarmament and non-proliferation. It was disheartening to note that that machinery was at risk of “rusting”, due to the apparent lack of political will to use it -- in the words of the Secretary-General in his opening statement to the 2000 NPT Review Conference. Similarly, his country attached great importance to the United Nations Disarmament Commission as a universal forum, which should be used to discuss new proposals in the disarmament field.

Recalling the words of his country’s President to the Conference on Disarmament, he noted that disarmament mechanisms were influenced by and responsive to developments in the international strategic scene, which affected the security interests of individual States. Regarding the future of missile defence, both parties to the ABM Treaty should refrain from implementing any measure that would undermine the Treaty’s purpose, integrity or validity. Hopefully, the decision by the United States to defer initial work on a national defence system could promote progress in multilateral disarmament forums, especially the Disarmament Conference

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