Conference on Disarmament (CD)

CD BULLETIN, August 9, 2001

By Jenni Rissanen

Summary

Ambassador Carlos Amat Forés of Cuba chaired the 881st meeting of the Conference on Disarmament (CD). Except for Amat's briefing on his consultations, there were no speakers in this short meeting.

Plenary Proceedings

Amat said his consultations had reaffirmed that the current strategic and security situation had a "negative impact and influence" on the CD, "far more so than the majority of us would wish". The majority of delegations seemed to think that prospects for immediate future were "not very encouraging". They also saw another complicating factor: this year's session would end soon, undermining efforts to advance agreement on substantive issues. Amat found it encouraging, however, that he had seen a desire to maintain the CD's credibility. Amat intended to keep the Amorim proposal for a work programme "intact". ¹

Delegations regarded the appointment of the three special coordinators as "as a positive sign", keeping the CD active until it can overcome the current stalemate. Amat referred to the consultations by Ambassador Prasad Kariyawasam of Sri Lanka on the CD's improved and effective functioning, noting that delegations had participated actively. Amat and Kariyawasam had interpreted this as an indication that there was a need to continue this discussion. Thus, Amat said they were exploring the possibility of recommending that the mandate of the Special Coordinators would be continued during the 2002 session.

The next plenary will be held on August 16, 2001 at the Palais des Nations, Geneva, and will be chaired by Ambassador Carlos Amat Forés.

Note

1. The Amorim proposal (CD/1624, August 24, 2000) recommends the establishment of four ad hoc committees: one each to "deal with" nuclear disarmament and PAROS, one to negotiate a ban on the production of fissile materials, based on a specific mandate agreed in 1995, and one, with a broader mandate, to negotiate on negative security assurances (NSA). For further details and analysis, see Jenni Rissanen, Geneva Update, Disarmament Diplomacy No. 50, September 2000.

To see the speeches, please visit the website of WILPF at http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/cd/thisweek/thisweekindex.html

Jenni Rissanen is the Acronym Institute's Analyst attending the CD in Geneva. For her latest, in-depth assessment of developments see CD Update in Disarmament Diplomacy No. 58.