Verification, naval disarmament discussed by 1987 Disarmament Commission.

Verification, naval disarmament discussed by 1987 Disarmament Commission

ISSUES RELATED TO verification and to naval armaments and disarmament were among major topics dealt with by the Disarmament Commission at its 1987 session (4-29 May, New York). Chairman Dimiter Kostov of Bulgaria, at the opening meeting, called for the surrender of old political thinking, which was trying to "drag into the nuclear age the outmoded criteria of yesteryear when all problems were solved by force of arms.' New means must be found for establishing a comprehensive system of international peace and security, he said. The Disarmament Commission should be strengthened and fully used to accomplish "more tangible results on a number of significant issues'.

The 159-member Commission, the General Assembly's deliberative body on disarmament, this year discussed seven substantive issues with a view to recommending action by the Assembly. In addition to verification, a new agenda item, and naval disarmament, five other subjects were considered: conventional disarmament, also a new item; various aspects of the arms race, in particular the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament; the role of the United Nations in the field of disarmament; reduction of military budgets; and South Africa's nuclear capability.

A Commission working group, chaired by Douglas Roche of Canada, concluded that verification was "a critically important element in the negotiation and implementation of arms limitation and disarmament', and that the United Nations had an important role to play in the context of verification of compliance with arms limitation and disarmament agreements.

It agreed that basic principles regarding verification in the 1978 Final Document of the first special session of the General Assembly on disarmament should be elaborated upon and added to in order to gain the benefits of experience accrued since July 1978. During its discussions, it formulated a list of 10 "agreed points' that could be included in new or expanded principles.

The Commission recommended that its work on verification continue in 1988 "as a matter of critical importance' in the negotiation and implementation of arms limitation and disarmament, with a view to elaborating concrete recommendations and proposals, including principles, provisions and techniques to promote the inclusion of adequate verification in such agreements.

Further discussion next year was also recommended regarding measures for naval arms limitation and disarmament and the desirability of applying confidence-building measures at sea. These matters were discussed in open-ended consultations conducted by Ali Alatas of Indonesia, acting as a "Friend of the Chairman'.

The possibility of negotiating a multilateral agreement concerning prevention of incidents at sea beyond the territorial sea, in addition to existing agreements, was suggested. Such an agreement, it was stated, should be formulated to respond to the needs of all interested nations for enhancing safety at sea without diminishing traditional freedom of navigation.

Verification: The working group on verification considered a paper submitted by its Chairman and a variety of other proposals on the subject.

It stated it supported Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar's view that the Organization's ability to assist in verification and compliance arrangements should be explored.

A compilation of methods, procedures and techniques including those which formed part of existing arms limitation and disarmament agreements, could be useful in facilitating consideration of verification as an integral part of arms limitation and disarmament negotiations, it stated. Such a catalogue would be illustrative and would "exemplify the range and scope of methods, procedures and techniques applicable to verification of compliance,' the working group stated. The Disarmament Commission could further examine the format and expense of such a compilation.

Given that the distribution of technical verification capabilities was "uneven', the Disarmament Commission agreed that the United Nations should examine the possibility of compiling and managing a verification data base. Member States and relevant international organizations would be invited to contribute to that data base a wide range of information pertaining to arms limitation and disarmament including information on confidence-building measures. Such a data base could include a catalogue of verification provisions, procedures, and methods as well as a catalogue of experts upon which members might call for assistance in designing verification systems.

Naval disarmament: Participants in consultations on the subject of naval armaments and disarmament reviewed the 1985 study on the naval arms race (A/40/535) and other papers on the subject. They reaffirmed that the significant elements and principles identified during 1986 discussions remained valid.

It was also recognized that naval forces were not independent of other military forces and that they should be considered in their general military context. There was no such thing as an independent naval balance or parity. By the same token, the reduction of naval nuclear forces and naval non-nuclear forces fell within the framework of nuclear and conventional disarmament respectively, and therefore should follow the general approaches of nuclear and conventional disarmament efforts.

Participants concurred that confidence-building measures of various kinds, both in the global and regional context, would be more amenable to further consideration and possible negotiation in the appropriate forums. These might include: extension of existing confidence-building measures to seas and oceans, especially to areas with the busiest sea lanes; prior notification of naval activities; inviting observers to naval exercises or manoeuvres; limitations on the number or scale of naval exercise in specific regions; exchange of information on naval matters; greater openness in naval matters in general; and strict observance of existing maritime measures designed to build confidence.

Other matters

Conventional disarmament: In considering this new agenda item, a working group, led by Skjold G. Mellbin of Denmark, reviewed the 1984 Study on Conventional Disarmament, views of Member States on that Study, and 19 working papers and other proposals on the subject.

During deliberations, delegations attached great importance to various aspects of conventional disarmament, particularly the relationship between nuclear and conventional weapons, the reduction of armed forces, arms transfer and the question of the reduction of military expenditure. It was generally recognized that the subject of conventional disarmament was not only complicated but also closely related to international security in general, both global and regional, and national interests of various countries in particular.

The Disarmament Commission recommended that work on the topic continue in 1988.

Role of UN: The Disarmament Commission recommended that priority be given in 1988 to the item on the role of the United Nations in the field of disarmament. The working group on this item, under the chairmanship of Paul Bamela Engo of Cameroon, continued its work this year. It further established an openended contact group under the chairmanship of Richard Butler of Australia for extensive deliberations.

Some 28 working papers and other documents were considered, and the contact group prepared a 16-paragraph paper, entitled "Review of the role of the United Nations in the field of disarmament', covering both political and machinery aspects of that role.

Agreement was reached regarding certain practical measures in relation to the General Assembly and its organs, namely, special sessions, the First Committee and the Disarmament Commission. Others were the Advisory Board on Disarmament Studies and the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), and the role of the Secretary-General.

It was recommended that the Secretary-General continue the practice of sending reports and communications on disarmament issues to the Assembly and other multilateral disarmament forums, and that the United Nations should examine the feasibility of his submitting to the Assembly a progress report on the disarmament process as a whole.

Military budgets: A consultation group under the chairmanship of Gheorghe Tinca of Romania continued work on 14 principles which should govern further actions of States in the field of freezing and reduction of military budgets. Only one principle--dealing with the matters of transparency, comparability and exchange of data--has not been agreed on.

The group, after considering various proposals for a text, reported that while significant progress had been made on some outstanding elements of that paragraph, it had not been possible to achieve consensus. The group was also divided on whether the item should be returned to the Commission for consideration in 1988.

The Commission decided to transmit the agreed principles and four formulations for the unagreed text to the General Assembly to decide on the future course of action on the item.

South Africa: The working group on South Africa's nuclear capability, under the chairmanship of Juan Enrique Fischer of Uruguay, reported "significant progress' in its continuing work on a group of 11 conclusions and recommendations on the subject. However, no consensus was possible on a text as a whole. After an intensive exchange of views, "convergences of approach were evident on several important areas of concern'. Agreement had been reached on two paragraphs and parts of a third. The Disarmament Commission recommended that priority be given this subject at its 1988 session.

Nuclear arms race: The item on consideration of various aspects of the arms race, particularly the nuclear-arms race and nuclear disarmament, was dealt with in the framework of the Committee of the Whole by a contact group open to all delegations, under the chairmanship of J.S. Teja of India.

The group reported progress towards resolving outstanding issues and arrived at agreed formulations on 13 of 32 recommendations. The Commission recommended its efforts be continued with a view to reaching agreement on a complete set of recommendations on the item.

Photo: Chairman Dimiter Kostov of Bulgaria (left) told the Disarmament Commission that new means must be found for establishing a comprehensive system of international peace and security.