United Nations (UN)
UN First Committee: September 30-November 1, 2002
New Agenda Coalition: Statement and Resolutions
Note: the New Agenda Coalition countries are Brazil,
Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa and Sweden.
Statement, September 30
Statement to the First Committee on behalf of the New Agenda
Coalition by Ambassador Mary Whelan, Permanent Representative of
Ireland to the United Nations in Geneva, September 30.
I am honoured to make a contribution to the general debate on
behalf of Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, South Africa
and Sweden, partners of the New Agenda Coalition (NAC). I will, at
the same time, give the Committee an overview of the agreed NAC
position on a number of issues which are detailed in the two draft
resolutions being circulated by us at this session.
The first of these, entitled Towards a Nuclear-Weapon-Free
World: the Need for a New Agenda, builds on the previous
efforts of the New Agenda Coalition, including at the 2000 NPT
Review Conference and at last April's Preparatory Committee meeting
for the 2005 Review Conference. As such, it represents a NAC
contribution to the ongoing Review process and to the goals of
nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
It is the firm belief of the NAC Partners that the horrific
events which took place only one year ago in this city have opened
our eyes to the importance of the multilateral approach. The
terrorist attacks and the possibility that their perpetrators could
make use of weapons of mass destruction have highlighted the
importance of the total elimination of nuclear weapons. These
attacks have been nothing less than a wake-up call for our age.
…
In 1995, the NPT states parties renewed their commitment to
pursue negotiations in good faith on effective nuclear disarmament
measures. By the time we reach the NOT Review Conference of 2005 a
full decade will have passed. One hopes, even at this late stage,
that the NPT parties will have positive progress to review by the
time the Conference starts. The undertakings made by states parties
at the year 2000 Review Conference have mapped out the practical
steps through which such progress can be achieved. The ongoing NPT
Preparatory Committee [PrepCom] process provides a facilitating
framework. We, as an international community, must take the agreed
practical steps. We must actively reinforce our collective security
in a spirit of mutuality. Our continued indecision leaves us as
vulnerable to a nuclear event as at any previous time in our
history.
The first NAC draft resolution provides a timely opportunity to
consolidate and to enhance the contribution that negotiated
treaties can continue to make to international nuclear security. We
have already fallen behind in this endeavour. Now is the time to
reinvigorate the wider nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation
debate so as to respond with tangible results. We welcome the fact
that Cuba has announced its intention to adhere to the
Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Without rehearsing the entire content of the initial NAC
resolution I urge like-minded states to join us in:
- calling upon the Conference on Disarmament to establish an
ad hoc committee to deal specifically with nuclear
disarmament,
- wishing to see the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty signed
and ratified to enter into force as soon as possible with
confirmation of the moratorium on all test explosions,
- expressing our deep concern about the continued retention of
the nuclear weapons option by the three states who have not yet
acceded to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and calling on them to do
so and bring into force full-scope IAEA safeguards,
- seeking the resumption of negotiations on a treaty to ban the
production of fissile material for nuclear weapons, taking into
consideration both nuclear disarmament and nuclear
non-proliferation objectives,
- wanting to prevent an arms race taking place in outer space and
calling on the Conference on Disarmament to re-establish an ad
hoc committee to deal with this issue,
- calling on nuclear-weapon states to respect fully their
existing commitments with regard to security assurances and for
recommendations on this issue to be made to the 2005 NPT Review
Conference.
Emerging approaches to the broader role of nuclear weapons,
including the development of new types of nuclear weapons and new
rationalisations for their use, give urgency to our concerns. There
is an accumulation of nuclear risk. There is a disturbing trend of
convergence between the possible deployment of tactical nuclear
weapons and conventional ones. This trend is among the many
horizontal and vertical pressures which are extending the range of
nuclear and related threats which we as a world community face.
In an effort to highlight and proactively anticipate the
particular threat posed by tactical nuclear weapons, we as NAC
partners have addressed our concerns in a second draft resolution
for this tear's session. This includes:
- a call for the reduction of Tactical Nuclear Weapons to be
given priority and carried out in a transparent, verifiable and
irreversible manner,
- a call to further reduce the operational status of Tactical
Nuclear Weapons so that the likelihood of their use is made more
remote.
The NAC Group strongly contends that it is no longer tenable to
leave our internationally agreed nuclear disarmament and nuclear
non-proliferation action strategies in open-ended abeyance. The two
resolutions we are putting forward can act as a catalyst to meet
the concerns of all like-minded states. By way of a positive
outcome to this session's debate, we invite like-minded states to
support our draft resolutions in a spirit of shared global
concern.
Back to the Top of the Page
New Agenda Resolution II: The Need for a New
Agenda, Draft Resolution, October 1
'Towards a Nuclear-Weapon-Free World: the Need for a New
Agenda', draft resolution submitted by the New Agenda Coalition,
A/C.1/57/L.3, October 1.
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolutions 53/77 Y of 4 December 1998,
54/54 G of 1 December 1999 and 55/33 C of 20 November 2000,
Convinced that the existence of nuclear weapons is a
threat to the survival of humanity,
Declaring that the participation of the international
community as a whole is central to the maintenance and enhancement
of international peace and stability and that international
security is a collective concern requiring collective
engagement,
Declaring also that internationally negotiated treaties
in the field of disarmament have made a fundamental contribution to
international peace and security, and that unilateral and bilateral
nuclear disarmament measures complement the treaty-based
multilateral approach towards nuclear disarmament,
Recalling the advisory opinion of the International Court
of Justice, on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear
Weapons, issued on 8 July 1996, Legality of the Threat or Use of
Nuclear Weapons, Advisory Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1996, p. 226. and
its unanimous conclusion that "there exists an obligation to pursue
in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to
nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective
international control",
Declaring that any presumption of the indefinite
possession of nuclear weapons by the nuclear-weapon States is
incompatible with the integrity and sustainability of the nuclear
non-proliferation regime and with the broader goal of the
maintenance of international peace and security,
Declaring also that it is essential that the fundamental
principles of transparency, verification and irreversibility should
apply to all nuclear disarmament measures,
Convinced that the further reduction of non-strategic
nuclear weapons constitutes an integral part of the nuclear arms
reduction and disarmament process,
Declaring that each article of the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is binding on the respective
States parties at all times and in all circumstances and that it is
imperative that all States parties be held fully accountable with
respect to the strict compliance with their obligations under the
Treaty, and that the undertakings therein on nuclear disarmament
have been given and that implementation of them remains the
imperative,
Expressing its deep concern that, to date, there have
been few advances in the implementation of the thirteen steps
agreed to at the 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,
Stressing the importance of regular reporting in
promoting confidence in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons,
Expressing its deep concern at the continued failure of
the Conference on Disarmament to deal with nuclear disarmament and
to resume negotiations on a non-discriminatory, multilateral and
internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the
production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear
explosive devices,
Expressing grave concern that the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty has not yet entered into force,
Expressing deep concern that the total number of nuclear
weapons deployed and stockpiled still amounts to thousands, and at
the continuing possibility that nuclear weapons could be used,
Acknowledging that reductions in the numbers of deployed
strategic nuclear warheads envisaged by the Treaty of Moscow
represent a positive step in the process of nuclear de-escalation
between the United States of America and the Russian Federation,
while stressing that reductions in deployments and in operational
status cannot substitute for irreversible cuts in, and the total
elimination of, nuclear weapons,
Noting that, despite these bilateral achievements, there
is no sign of efforts involving all of the five nuclear-weapon
States in the process leading to the total elimination of nuclear
weapons,
Expressing its deep concern about emerging approaches to
the broader role of nuclear weapons as part of security strategies,
including the development of new types, and rationalizations for
the use, of nuclear weapons,
Expressing concern that the development of strategic
missile defences could impact negatively on nuclear disarmament and
non-proliferation, and lead to a new arms race on earth and in
outer space,
Stressing that no steps should be taken which would lead
to the weaponization of outer space,
Expressing its deep concern at the continued retention of
the nuclear-weapons option by those three States that have not yet
acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
and operate unsafeguarded nuclear facilities, in particular given
the effects of regional volatility on international security, and
in this context, the continued regional tensions and deteriorating
security situation in South Asia and the Middle East,
Welcoming progress in the further development of
nuclear-weapon-free zones in some regions and, in particular, the
consolidation of that in the southern hemisphere and adjacent
areas,
Recalling the United Nations Millennium Declaration,
Resolution 55/2. in which the Heads of State and Government
resolved to strive for the elimination of weapons of mass
destruction, in particular nuclear weapons, and to keep all options
open for achieving this aim, including the possibility of convening
an international conference to identify ways of eliminating nuclear
dangers,
Taking into consideration the unequivocal undertaking by
the nuclear-weapon States, in the Final Document of the 2000 Review
Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons, to accomplish the total elimination of their
nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament, to which all the
States parties to the Treaty are committed under article VI of the
Treaty, 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document, vol. I
(NPT/CONF.2000/28 (Parts I-II)), Part I, Article VI and eighth to
twelfth preambular paragraphs, para. 6 under para. 15.
1. Reaffirms that the growing possibility that nuclear
weapons could be used represents a continued risk for humanity;
2. Calls upon all States to refrain from any action that
could lead to a new nuclear-arms race or that could impact
negatively on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation;
3. Also calls upon all States to observe international
treaties in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation
and to duly fulfil all obligations flowing from those treaties;
4. Further calls upon all States parties to pursue, with
determination and with continued vigour, the full and effective
implementation of the substantial agreements reached at the 2000
Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, the outcome of which provides
the requisite blueprint to achieve nuclear disarmament;
5. Calls upon the nuclear-weapon States to respect fully
their existing commitments with regard to security assurances,
pending the conclusion of multilaterally negotiated legally binding
security assurances to all non-nuclear-weapon States parties, and
agrees to prioritize this issue with a view to recommendations to
the 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons;.
6. Also calls upon the nuclear-weapon States to increase
their transparency and accountability with regard to their nuclear
weapons arsenals and their implementation of disarmament
measures;
7. Reaffirms the necessity for the Preparatory Committee
for the 2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to consider regular reports to
be submitted by all States parties on the implementation of article
VI as outlined in paragraph 15, subparagraph 12, of the 2000 Final
Document, and on paragraph 4 (c) of the 1995 Decision;
8. Calls upon nuclear-weapon States to implement the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons commitments to
apply the principle of irreversibility by destroying their nuclear
warheads in the context of strategic nuclear reductions and avoid
keeping them in a state that lends itself to their possible
redeployment;
9. Agrees on the importance and urgency of signatures and
ratifications to achieve the early entry into force of the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty;
10. Calls for the upholding and maintenance of the
moratorium on nuclear-weapon-test explosions or any other nuclear
explosions pending the entry into force of the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty;
11. Reaffirms that the entry into force of the
Comprehensive Nuclear-Test- Ban Treaty is particularly urgent since
the process of the installation of an international system to
monitor nuclear-weapons tests under the Comprehensive
Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty is more advanced than the real prospects of
entry into force of the Treaty, a situation which is not consistent
with a universal and comprehensive test-ban treaty;
12. Agrees that the further reduction of non-strategic
nuclear weapons should be accorded priority and that nuclear-weapon
States must live up to their commitments in this regard;
13. Agrees also that reductions of non-strategic nuclear
weapons should be carried out in a transparent and irreversible
manner and that the reduction and elimination of non-strategic
nuclear weapons should be included in the overall arms reductions
negotiations. In this context, urgent action should be taken to
achieve:
(a) Further reduction of non-strategic nuclear weapons, based on
unilateral initiatives and as an integral part of the nuclear arms
reduction and disarmament process;
(b) Further confidence-building and transparency measures to
reduce the threats posed by non-strategic nuclear weapons;
(c) Concrete agreed measures to reduce further the operational
status of nuclear-weapons systems, and to
(d) Formalize existing informal bilateral arrangements regarding
non-strategic nuclear reductions, such as the Bush-Gorbachev
declarations of 1991, into legally binding agreements;
14. Calls upon nuclear-weapon States to undertake the
necessary steps towards the seamless integration of all five
nuclear-weapon States into a process leading to the total
elimination of nuclear weapons;
15. Agrees that the Conference on Disarmament should
establish without delay an ad hoc committee to deal with nuclear
disarmament;
16. Agrees also that the Conference on Disarmament should
resume negotiations on a non-discriminatory, multilateral and
internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the
production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear
explosive devices taking into consideration both nuclear
disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation objectives;
17. Agrees further that the Conference on Disarmament
should complete the examination and updating of the mandate on the
prevention of an arms race in outer space in all its aspects, as
contained in its decision of 13 February 1992, CD/1125. and
re-establish an ad hoc committee as early as possible;
18. Calls upon those three States that are not yet
parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
and operate unsafeguarded nuclear facilities to accede to the
Treaty as non-nuclear-weapon States, promptly and without
condition, and to bring into force the required comprehensive
safeguards agreements, together with additional protocols,
consistent with the Model Protocol Additional to the Agreement(s)
between State(s) and the International Atomic Energy Agency for the
Application of Safeguards approved by the Board of Governors of the
International Atomic Energy Agency on 15 May 1997, International
Atomic Energy Agency, INFCIRC/540 (Corrected). for ensuring nuclear
non-proliferation, and to reverse clearly and urgently any policies
to pursue any nuclear weapons development or deployment and refrain
from any action that could undermine regional and international
peace and security and the efforts of the international community
towards nuclear disarmament and the prevention of nuclear weapons
proliferation;
19. Calls upon those States that have not yet done so to
conclude full-scope safeguards agreements with the International
Atomic Energy Agency and to conclude additional protocols to their
safeguards agreements on the basis of the Model Protocol;
20. Reaffirms the conviction that the establishment of
internationally recognized nuclear-weapon-free zones on the basis
of arrangements freely arrived at among the States of the region
concerned enhances global and regional peace and security,
strengthens the nuclear non-proliferation regime and contributes
towards realizing the objective of nuclear disarmament, and
supports proposals for the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free
zones where they do not yet exist, such as in the Middle East and
South Asia;
21. Calls for the completion and implementation of the
Trilateral Initiative between the International Atomic Energy
Agency, the Russian Federation and the United States of America and
for consideration to be given to the possible inclusion of other
nuclear-weapon States;
22. Calls upon all nuclear-weapon States to make
arrangements for the placing, as soon as practicable, of their
fissile material no longer required for military purposes under
International Atomic Energy Agency or other relevant international
verification and to make arrangements for the disposition of such
material for peaceful purposes in order to ensure that such
material remains permanently outside military programmes;
23. Affirms that a nuclear-weapon-free world will
ultimately require the underpinning of a universal and
multilaterally negotiated legally binding instrument or a framework
encompassing a mutually reinforcing set of instruments;
24. Acknowledges the report of the Secretary-General on the
implementation of resolution 55/33/C, A/56/309, and requests him,
within existing resources, to prepare a report on the
implementation of the present resolution;
25. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its
fifty-eighth session the item entitled "Towards a
nuclear-weapon-free world: the need for a new agenda", and to
review the implementation of the present resolution at that
session.
Back to the Top of the Page
New Agenda Resolution, II: Sub-Strategic
Weapons, October 1
'Reductions on Non-Strategic Nuclear Weapons', draft
resolution submitted by the New Agenda Coalition, A/C.1/57/L.2,
October 1.
The General Assembly,
Recalling its resolution 55/33 D of 20 November 2000,
Taking into account the advisory opinion of the
International Court of Justice on the Legality of the Threat or Use
of Nuclear Weapons, issued on 8 July 1996, A/51/218, annex; see
also Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons, Advisory
Opinion, I.C.J. Reports 1996, p. 226. and its unanimous conclusion
that "there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring
to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all
its aspects under strict and effective international control",
Stressing the unequivocal undertaking by the
nuclear-weapon States in the Final Document of the 2000 Review
Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons to accomplish the total elimination of their
nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament, a goal to which
all States parties to the Treaty are committed under its article
VI, 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document, vol. I
(NPT/CONF.2000/28 (Parts I and II)), Part I, Article VI and eighth
to twelfth preambular paragraphs, para. 6 under para. 15.,
Reaffirming the necessity of strict compliance by all
parties with their obligations under the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the necessity of upholding
their commitments in associated decisions and final documents
agreed at the 2000 and 1995 Review Conference,
Noting the importance attached to the issue of reducing
non-strategic nuclear weapons by the Secretary-General of the
United Nations in his report to the Millennium Assembly, see
A/54/2000.,
Stressing the commitment made in the Final Document of
the 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons to the further reduction of
non-strategic nuclear weapons, see 2000 Review Conference of the
Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,
Final Document, vol. I (NPT/CONF.2000/28 (Parts I and II)), Part I,
Article VI and eighth to twelfth preambular paragraphs, para. 9
under para. 15.,
Concerned that the total number of nuclear weapons
deployed and in stockpile still amounts to many thousands,
Reiterating the particular responsibility of the
nuclear-weapon States for transparent, verifiable and irreversible
reductions in nuclear weapons leading to nuclear disarmament,
1. Agrees that the further reduction of non-strategic
nuclear weapons should be accorded priority;
2. Agrees also that the reduction and elimination of
non-strategic nuclear weapons should be included as an integral
part of the nuclear-arms reduction and disarmament process;
3. Agrees further that the reduction of non-strategic
nuclear weapons should be carried out in a transparent and
irreversible manner;
4. Agrees on the importance of preserving, reaffirming,
implementing and building upon the 1991 and 1992 Presidential
Nuclear Initiatives of the United States of America and the Union
of Soviet Socialist Republics/Russian Federation on non-strategic
nuclear weapons;
5. Calls upon the Russian Federation and the United
States of America to codify the Presidential Nuclear Initiatives
into a legally binding treaty;
6. Calls for further confidence-building and transparency
measures to reduce the threats posed by non-strategic nuclear
weapons;
7. Calls also for concrete agreed measures to further
reduce the operational status of non-strategic nuclear weapons
systems;
8. Calls upon the Russian Federation and the United
States of America to initiate negotiations on an effectively
verifiable agreement on significant reductions of non-strategic
nuclear weapons;
9. Agrees on the importance of special security and
physical protection measures for the transport and storage of
non-strategic nuclear weapons;
10. Requests the Secretary-General to submit a report to
the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth session containing the
views of Member States on the issue of reductions of non-strategic
nuclear weapons;
11. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its
fifty-eighth session an item entitled "Reduction of non-strategic
nuclear weapons".
Back to the Top of the Page
© 2002 The Acronym Institute.
|
