Disarmament Diplomacy

Issue No. 64, May - June 2002

News Review

UN Missiles Panel Concludes Session

In New York on April 5, the UN Panel of Governmental Experts on Missiles concluded the second of three scheduled sessions of deliberations. The Panel was established, on the basis of an Iranian initiative, by the General Assembly in 2000 with a mandate to prepare a report on "the issue of missiles in all its aspects" for submission to the Assembly's 57th Session in October 2002. The resolution (55/33A) was adopted along divided lines, with 90 states in favour, mainly non-aligned and developing countries unhappy at the perceived elitism of existing export controls, and 60 abstentions, predominantly from Western states, many with advanced missile programmes and members of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). These divisions have remained evident through the Panel's discussions. In the summation of Panel Chair Ambassador Antonio Guerreiro of Brazil, speaking to UN Newswire on April 9:

"It is a little bit premature [to anticipate] what kind of recommendations we will make. The problem is that we have norms relating to weapons of mass destruction that follow a certain approach. Missiles are different, because they are not weapons, they are delivery means of weapons. ... Everyone is engaged in this whole exercise. Of course, there are different views. Some feel there should be robust recommendations; others feel we must be more modest. We are not talking only about a non-proliferation regime; there are certain members of the Panel that put priority on non-proliferation, whereas others think the problem is not so much non-proliferation but the refinement and accumulation of [missile technology] and missile defense. ... It is premature to say where the consensus will lie.

Guerreiro added that the vexed issue of space-launch vehicle (SLV) programmes and technologies, and their potential misapplication for weapons-delivery purposes, was not one the Panel was likely to directly address in its report: "We all accept the notion that access to space is a right that every state has, but there should be procedures that guarantee that this technology is not diverted to military means... [The question] is about intentions, not technology - it is a question of perception as to what kind of threat a space programme presents. It is a conclusion for national governments to make. I don't think the Panel will come to any conclusion on this."

The Panel first met in August, 2001, and will convene again to finalise the report in July this year.

Report: Expert panel on missiles concludes second session, UN Newswire, April 9.

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© 2002 The Acronym Institute.