ACRONYM Reports

A Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty: Signed but not Sealed

Appendix 1:
The Conference on Disarmament

On June 17 the CD finally admitted 23 new members, swelling its number to 61. This historic decision concluded three years of deadlock after the United States, objecting to Iraq being given full membership rights, torpedoed a formula which had been carefully crafted by the Australian ambassador to the CD, Paul O'Sullivan, in 1993.

The latest, and finally successful attempt to increase the CD's representation, was initiated by Argentina from within the CD, and pushed by Chile, South Africa and New Zealand on behalf of the members-in-waiting. It involved careful negotiations with the United States, and at one point the personal intervention of South African President Nelson Mandela. To bypass US objections to the inclusion of Iraq, while maintaining the integrity of the 'O'Sullivan list', all of the new members signed an undertaking that for the first two years they would not individually obstruct any action of the CD, which makes its decisions by consensus.

History of Expansion Efforts

Since 1978, CD membership had been stuck at 38, despite repeated calls for it to be enlarged to reflect present economic, political and regional concerns more effectively. In 1993, the CD appointed O'Sullivan as Special Coordinator on the issue. After consultations with many states, he recommended that 23 countries, representing all the regions and including several states of proliferation concern, should be admitted together. To circumvent vetoes against individual states for regional or other political reasons, the list was presented as a package deal. Although the US delegation had accepted this, a few hours before the CD was due to adopt the decision in September 1993, the US withdrew its agreement on grounds that Iraq should not be granted membership as long as it was subject to sanctions under chapter VII of the U.N. Charter. Despite several attempts to resolve the difficulties, the US veto, combined with a determination by the 23 to stick together, resulted in an impasse until September 1995.

On the penultimate day of the 1995 session, the President of the CD at the time, Ambassador Benjelloun-Touimi of Morocco, managed to finesse agreement on a two stage expansion decision. In the first stage the Conference accepted O'Sullivan's 1993 recommendation of the 23 countries; however actual admission of these countries was to be delayed pending a further decision 'at the earliest possible date'.

Seizing on a slight revision of the US position on Iraq indicated by the US ambassador's statement that "in the case where one of its members is subject to comprehensive enforcement measures taken by the Security Council under chapter VII of the [UN] Charter, that state would not have the right to deny consensus on any decision to be adopted by the conference pending a subsequent decision to the contrary," South Africa persuaded the United States to withdraw its veto providing the country concerned gave an individual commitment not to exercise its veto.

Several weeks of hard bargaining were necessary in order to forge agreement between members of the G-21 objecting to explicit mention of the chapter VII sanctions, who stressed that there was no relationship between the CD and decisions of the UN Security Council, and the United States, which insisted that the undertaking with regard to Iraq be made explicit in the declaration. The G-21 were particularly concerned not to set an undesirable precedent. They also questioned the status of the declaration and its legal relationship with the decision to enlarge the CD. To resolve these difficulties, Argentina and South Africa developed an alternative approach which eventually won consensus. The CD was asked only to implement the decision of September 21,1995, admitting the 23 countries. A letter (rather than declaration) signed by all 23 new members would be sent to the President on that occasion, setting out a binding commitment not to exercise their right of veto for a specified time. The two events would be connected sufficiently to enable the US to lift its veto on expansion, but would not be linked in such a way as to set a precedent or affect the membership of any state other than those which had individually signed the letter.

Proposed by Argentina and adopted at the 739^th plenary, the CD decided 'in implementation of its decision CD/1356 of 21 September 1995, to admit Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Finland, Iraq, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Senegal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Turkey, Ukraine, Viet Nam and Zimbabwe as members of the Conference on Disarmament on 17 June 1996.'

CD Membership in 1997

Seventeen countries which have applied for CD membership are still left out. The European Union has taken a strong stand advocating that all who have applied and meet the requirements should be admitted, but the United States and others are opposed, arguing that the CD is becoming too large to be able to negotiate effectively. By expanding to 61, the CD now comprises one third of the United Nation's membership, including most of the significant regional and political players. Notable exceptions - countries which have a record of interest on nuclear arms control and disarmament issues, but which remain observers - are Kazakstan, Ireland, Malaysia, the Philippines, Tanzania and Thailand, all of whom have applied for membership but were not included in O'Sullivan's package deal.

CD members organised themselves into three groupings during the Cold War. These are becoming less and less functional or relevant to states' real interests and alliances, but are retained. Appointments and consultations rotate among the three groups.

Group of Western States and Others: Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Germany, Finland, France, Israel, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, UK and USA. (21)

Group of Eastern European States and Others: Belarus, Bulgaria, Hungary, Poland, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Ukraine. (8)

G-21 Group of Non-Aligned States: Algeria, Bangladesh, Brazil, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Cuba, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Egypt, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Iraq, Iran, Kenya, Mexico, Mongolia, Morocco, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Senegal, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Syria, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Zaire, Zimbabwe. (30)

China is outside any of the groups, and often refers to itself as the 'group of one'.

© 1997 The Acronym Institute.