Disarmament Diplomacy

Issue No. 60, September 2001

Documents & Sources

UN Secretary-General Annual Report

Report of the Secretary-General on the Work of the Organization, A/56/1, September 6, 2001.

Disarmament Issues

"[Paragraph] 75. In the Millennium Declaration, world leaders resolved to strive to eliminate weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, and to reduce the global risks posed by small arms and landmines. Uncertainties about the status of the strategic relationship between the leading nuclear-weapon powers and continuing divergence of views among states on priorities and perspectives, however, continue to inform the debate and block further movement on global security and disarmament.

76. Global military expenditures have continued to rise, the increase occurring in some industrialized countries and in a number of developing countries. Although official development assistance levels have continued to fall during the year, military budgets have risen persistently. Conservative estimates suggest that annual military expenditures exceed $800 billion, or 80% of average Cold War global military expenditures.

77. The level of international cooperation in disarmament remains disappointingly low. This is especially evident in the Conference on Disarmament - a crucial part of the multilateral disarmament machinery - where in 2001 no consensus on a programme of work could be reached. I hope that the appointment by the Conference of three special coordinators will help to bring about some forward movement next year. Several multilateral agreements still await either entry into force or effective implementation. The historic agreements reached at the 2000 Review Conference of the [NPT]...have yet to be fully realized.

78. Although 161 states have signed and ratified the [CTBT]...the challenges that confront its entry into force still persist. At the request of the majority of the states parties, I have decide to convene the second Conference on Facilitating the Entry into Force of the Treaty, which will held in New York from September 25 to 27, 2001. [Note: the Conference was postponed following the September 11 terrorist attacks.] It is my hope that the prevailing global moratorium on nuclear testing will be strictly observed pending the Treaty's entry into force.

79. I am concerned that plans to deploy national missile defences threaten not only current bilateral and multilateral arms control agreements but also ongoing and future disarmament and non-proliferation efforts. In order to avert a new arms race, I encourage continuing consultation on these issues. Multilateral negotiations towards legally binding, irreversible and verifiable disarmament agreements are essential.

80. Multilaterally negotiated norms against missile proliferation would considerably reduce the threat posed by ballistic missiles armed with conventional weapons of weapons of mass destruction. At the General Assembly's request, I have convened a panel of governmental experts to review and report in 2002 on the issue of missiles in all its aspects.

81. Negotiations on a verification protocol to strengthen the Biological Weapons Convention, enhance its effectiveness, and promote a higher degree of transparency have not led to agreement. It is expected that the work to strengthen the Convention will be addressed at the Fifth Review Conference... The Chemical Weapons Convention has played a vital role in international efforts to eliminate the dangers posed by weapons of mass destruction... Increased effort is required to ensure the Convention's universality, and continued political and financial support for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons is vital to ensuring that its mandated tasks are effectively and efficiently carried out.

82. ... The United Nations Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons...provided an historic opportunity for international debate... The Programme of Action, which was adopted by consensus, is a significant first step towards the goal of preventing, combating and eradicating the illicit trade... The Conference did not achieve consensus on all issues, however. I encourage governments to continue work on those issues and urge member states to act upon the key recommendations of the Conference.

83. Member states are increasingly requesting the Secretariat to implement practical disarmament measures... Although a lack of adequate resources continue to hamper their work, regional centres for peace and disarmament have expanded their activities and initiated the provision of advisory and training services. Efforts are under way to seek more contributions from interested member states in order to cope with growing requests for assistance.

84. Adherence to the amended Protocol II [on landmines] to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons [CCW] has grown, the total number of states which have adhered to the amended Protocol II now being 58. An additional 12 countries acceded to or ratified the [Ottawa] Convention...while states parties continued to work towards its implementation. ..."

Iraq

"31. In view of Iraq's continuing non-compliance with Security Council resolutions, in particular resolution 1284 (1999), the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission [UNMOVIC] has not been deployed. It remains a great concern that, since December 1998, the United Nations has not been able to verify Iraq's adherence to Security Council resolutions regarding weapons of mass destruction. Moreover, Iraq continues its non-cooperation with the High-level Coordinator, who is seeking to repatriate all Kuwaiti and third-country nationals and secure the return of Kuwaiti property. I deeply regret the continued suffering of the Iraqi people and share their hopes that sanctions can be lifted sooner rather than later. While I am prepared to resume my dialogue with the government of Iraq, a first round of which was held in February 2001, Iraq must reconsider its non-cooperation with the Security Council if it wishes to make progress towards an eventual lifting of the sanctions. ...

109. During the past year the 'oil-for-food' programme, established by the Security Council in 1996, and administered by the Office of the Iraq Programme, has continued to assist the Iraqi people in meeting their basic needs... Since the adoption of Security Council resolution 1330 (2000) on December 5, 2000, 72% of Iraqi oil revenue is now available for the humanitarian programme, instead of the 66% available during earlier phases. ... The government of Iraq's delays in contracting humanitarian supplies and equipment are of great concern, as are the delays in submitting applications by contractors, and the decision to place a large number of contracts on hold by the Security Council sanctions committee."