G. Disarmament

111. Much has been achieved in the area of disarmament, especially since the end of the cold war, not least thanks to the efforts of the General Assembly and its First Committee, as well as other relevant United Nations bodies. However, the prevailing atmosphere today is one of stalemate and inaction. The failure of the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in May 2005 to reach consensus and the absence of a section on non-proliferation and disarmament in the 2005 World Summit Outcome, combined with the ongoing inability of the Conference on Disarmament to agree on a work programme, are causes for concern. This state of affairs is particularly unfortunate in view of the urgent need to provide mechanisms to ensure that weapons of mass destruction do not fall into the hands of terrorist or criminal elements, whose activities have visibly intensified around the world in recent years.

112. In addition to the current focus on the threat posed by weapons of mass destruction, Member States continue to pay close attention to matters relating to conventional arms. Such matters include the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, as well as implementation of the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-personnel Mines.

113. What is primarily needed, of course, is political will and determination to make progress on the range of major issues at hand and achieve early positive results. Streamlining the mandates in this area will not be sufficient, but it would free resources and time to deal with the issues that matter most. I therefore submit some indicative suggestions for consideration by the General Assembly.

Reporting requirements

114. A review of the numerous items and sub-items on the United Nations agenda in the area of disarmament, the resolutions adopted, and the actual impact they have on the ground suggests a disconnect between stated intentions and actual results. The added value of reporting on such items seems to be rather limited. To save time and resources, I would suggest that some General Assembly items assigned to the First Committee, on general matters of security and disarmament, which are not connected to any current situation but are rather of a thematic nature, be taken up less frequently. [54] As a result, reporting requirements could be biennialized or triennialized, following a review of their urgency and impact.

115. The annual item on notification of nuclear tests has become redundant since the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and the norms it sets against nuclear testing. In view of the lack of substantive progress for over a decade, the relevance of continuing with the item on the implementation of the Declaration of the Indian Ocean as a Zone of Peace should also be reviewed.

116. Various groups of governmental experts to conduct studies on disarmament issues have proved their value over time, including by the release of landmark reports on such issues as nuclear weapons, concepts of security, and small arms. But on some issues these mechanisms have been less successful. In the past five years, the issue of missiles in all its aspects was addressed by two panels of governmental experts, only one of which could agree on a consensus report. For the expert panel on missiles, to be established in 2007 and expected to report in 2008, efforts are now under way to produce a consultant's report to assist its work. In the light of experience with this issue, there would appear to be little point in persevering with a mandate that uses a formula that has been tried in the recent past with unsatisfactory results. In circumstances where substantive disagreement on disarmament issues remains, different ways to conduct such studies should be considered, such as convening smaller groups, using a variety of meeting formats, and contracting individual consultancies to help break deadlocks.

117. The United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) was established under Security Council resolution 1284 (1999) to verify the disarmament of Iraq of biological and chemical weapons and missiles and other means of delivery with ranges greater than 150 km, and to monitor Iraq's compliance with its obligations not to use, develop, construct or acquire such weapons. UNMOVIC is widely seen as having accumulated significant experience, including in the area of biological weapons and means of delivery, constituting expertise that does not exist elsewhere in the multilateral system. As the situation in Iraq evolves, a Security Council review of the UNMOVIC mandate may be warranted, including examination of whether and how the United Nations could utilize certain areas of the Commission's expertise such as its roster of trained technical experts.

118. The activities of the Standing Advisory Committee on Security Questions in Central Africa could also be reviewed in a similar light, taking into consideration the results achieved through the Committee's deliberations in recent years, the cost-effectiveness of the number of meetings held and the venues chosen for those meetings, as well as other relevant factors.

 

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54. Items that could be considered in this context include: "Developments in the field of information and telecommunications in the context of international security", "Role of science and technology in the context of international security and disarmament", "National legislation on transfer of arms, military equipment and dual-use goods and technology", "Observance of environmental norms in the drafting and implementation of agreements on disarmament and arms control", "Confidence-building measures in the regional and subregional context", "Conventional arms control at the regional and subregional levels", and "Strengthening of security and cooperation in the Mediterranean region". Similarly, the four sub-items dealing with the United Nations regional centres for peace and disarmament could be taken up biennially and/or the resolutions pertaining to them could be consolidated. [Back to text]