Disarmament Conference reports 'long, arduous session.' (includes related articles)

A large part of the work of the 1994 Conference on Disarmament--held in Geneva in three parts (25 January-31 March; 16 May-1 July; and 25 July-7 September)--was devoted to the question of a nuclear-test ban. Ending what Conference President Sirous Nasseri of iran termed a "long and arduous session", the world's sole multilateral disarmament negotiating body adopted its report (A/49/27) to the General Assembly's forty-ninth session.

In a message to the Conference on 25 January, Secretary-General Boutros Boutros-Ghali had declared that Assembly resolution 48/70 on the comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty-sponsored by more than 157 Member States and adopted by consensus in 1993-was a "milestone in the efforts of the international community to ban all nuclear tests in all environments for all time". He was gratified that the Conference was to give priority to negotiations for a "universal, multilaterally and effectively verifiable comprehensive nuclear-test-ban treaty".

The Ad Hoc Committee on a Nuclear-Test Ban, re-established on 25 January with Miguel Marin-Bosch of Mexico as Chairman, had a general exchange of views on all aspects of such a treaty and set up two working groups: on verification and on legal and institutional issues. After intensive work, the Committee included the results of its ongoing negotiations on the draft treaty in a rolling text.

In a related development, the Ad Hoc Group of Scientific Experts to Consider International Co-operative Measures to Detect and Identity Seismic Events continued work on measures to facilitate an international exchange of seismological data under a comprehensive treaty in a protocol that would be an integral part of the treaty.

The Group also completed plans for developing, testing and evaluating GSETT-3--AN experimental international seismic monitoring system that could help in establishing an ultimate verification system.

The 38-member Conference consists of: five nuclear-weapon States (China, France, Russian Federation, United Kingdom and United States); other militarily significant States; and neutral and non-aligned countries which form the "Group of 21". In 1994, 47 non-member States participated as observers in the plenary meetings of the Conference or its subsidiary bodies.

Members agreed that the Conference was the appropriate forum to negotiate a "non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty banning the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices", reported Gerald Shannon of Canada, who had been appointed Special Coordinator on the issue. There was agreement in principle that an ad hoc committee should be established as soon as a mandate was agreed upon, he added.

Outer space

The adequacy of the current legal regime, the confidence-building measures in outer space activities, and the terminological aspects of work were among key issues considered by the Ad Hoc Committee on the Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space, which had been re-established on 25 January under the chairmanship of Jose A. Perez Novoa of Cuba.

Members of the "Group of 21" developing countries and China stressed that existing legal instruments were "far from effective" in preventing such an arms race and favoured rapid elaboration of a legal regime, as well as reinforcement of existing instruments by more effective implementation and broader participation of States.

Some members of the Western Group maintained that there was "no arms race in outer space", adding that the U N Charter and outer space-related arms control treaties, together with customary international an domestic laws of individual nations, provided an "equitable, practical and extensive legal system for ensuring the use of outer space for peaceful purposes."

The Ad Hoc Committee favoured closer coordination with the Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space on issues of mutual concern. Substantive work on those matters should continue at the next Conference session, it was agreed.

Security assurances, transparency

Pending the elimination of nuclear weapons, non-nuclear-weapon States should be effectively assured against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons, stated the relevant Ad Hoc Committee in its report to the Conference.

Chaired by Alain Guillaume of Belgium, the Committee agreed that a discussion on negative security assurances could "not be conducted in isolation from a general assessment of the security situation both at regional and global levels".

An eventual solution might involve addressing the problem of positive assurances on the part of Security Council permanent members, pursuant to resolution 255 (1968), which stated that, in the case of aggression with nuclear weapons, the Council should "act immediately in accordance with the Charter" and provide assistance to the victims.

With regard to transparency in armaments, the Ad Hoc Committee on that subject maintained a general view that increased openness could "enhance confidence, ease tensions, strengthen regional and international peace and security, contribute to restraint in military production and the transfer of arms". Together with the appropriate mechanisms, that could "contribute to the prevention of armed conflicts".

Chaired by Gyorgy Botha of Hungary, the Committee agreed that transparency was "not an end in itself", but should respect the principle of "undiminished security for every State". Also, there was a prevailing view that the 1992 Register of Conventional Arms--a "step forward in the promotion of transparency in military matters"--had to be developed in such a manner as to encourage universal participation.

Other issues

At its 1994 session, the Conference did not establish ad hoc committees on: cessation of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament; prevention of nuclear war, including all related matters; new types of weapons of mass destruction and new systems of such weapons; radiological weapons; and comprehensive programme of disarmament.

Lars Norberg of Sweden was appointed Special Coordinator to review the agenda; and Luiz Filipe Lampreia of Brazil was named Friend of the Chair to deal with membership expansion. Strong divergent views were expressed with respect to a reformed agenda, and no movement was made on the issue of membership.

Since 1982, 34 non-member States had requested membership: Austria, Bangladesh, Belarus, Cameroon, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Croatia, Czech Republic, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Ecuador, Finland, Greece, Iraq, Ireland, Israel, Kuwait, Malaysia, New Zealand, Norway Portugal, Republic of Korea, Senegal, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, Syria, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, Viet Nam, and Zimbabwe.

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