A turn for the better ... Conference on Disarmament begins work for 1988 in 'a changed international situation.'A turn for the better... Conference on Disarmament Conference on Disarmament (CD) is a multilateral disarmament negotiating forum. Established in 1979, the Conference succeeded the Ten-Nation Committee on Disarmament (1960), the Eighteen-Nation Committee on Disarmament (1962-68) and the Conference of the Committee on begins work for 1988 in a changed international situation' The 40-member Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament began its work in 1988 in what its President described as a "changed international situation" raising hopes for further progress on disarmament disarmament Reduction in armaments by one or more nations. Arms reductions may be imposed by a war's victors on the defeated (as happened after Germany's defeat in World War I). issues. In opening the session on 2 February, the Conference President for February, Harald Rose of the German Democratic Republic, said that after years of harsh confrontation, a continuing arms race and growing tensions, "a turn for the better appears possible". He cited, in particular, the December 1987 Soviet-United States accord on intermediate- and shorter-range nuclear forces (INF INF interferon. ). The disarmament process must now be advanced at all levels, he declared. "More arms do not mean greater security", said Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar Pé·rez de Cuél·lar , Javier Born 1920. Peruvian diplomat who served as secretary-general of the United Nations (1982-1991). , in a message to the Conference. "Security can be sought and assured at progressively lower levels of armaments with appropriate collateral measures." He called for strengthening the role of the Conference in the disarmament process and accelerating progress towards new treaties and instruments. "The priority is to consolidate and promote ... the convergence of views that is beginning to take place. Where the possibility of agreement exists, it needs to be encouraged and concretized. Where confidence and trust begin to grow, they need to be nurtured." During meetings in February and March, the Conference reestablished five ad hoc committees ad hoc committee A committee formed with the purpose of addressing a specific issue or issues, which theoretically is disbanded once its raison d'etre is finished to deal with issues related to chemical weapons, radiological weapons radiological weapon: see radiation weapon. , a comprehensive programme of disarmament, prevention of an arms race in outer space, and international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. Within the framework of its permanent 10-item agenda, it also continued consideration of a nuclear test ban; cessation of the nuclear arms race The nuclear arms race was a competition for supremacy in nuclear weapons between the United States and Soviet Union and their respective allies during the Cold War. During the Cold War, in addition to the American and Soviet nuclear stockpiles, other countries also developed and nuclear disarmament nuclear disarmament: see disarmament, nuclear. ; and prevention of nuclear war, but subsidiary bodies to deal with these items were not established. Paul von Stulpnagel of the Federal Republic of Germany, President for March, said that lack of agreement on creating those working bodies indicated that at present the underlying political and military differences of approach did not permit multilateral negotiations to start right away in the Conference. The Conference each year holds a two-part session, the first part from February through April, the second from June through August. The ad hoc committees try to reach consensus on various issues and elaborate new instruments in the field of arms limitation and disarmament. PHOTO : `The priority is to consolidate the convergence of views that is beginning totake place..' |
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