Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD)

May I first of all convey to you our congratulations, on your assumption of the Presidency of the Conference on Disarmament. We are convinced that your dedication and wisdom will be a great asset in guiding the work of the Conference at this stage. May I also take the opportunity to convey our appreciation to Ambassador Munir Akram of Pakistan for the skill with which he presided over the Conference before you.

Mr. President, I am instructed to read to the CD an extract from the statement made by the Minister of External Affairs of India Mr. I. K. Gujral to both Houses of the Indian Parliament on 31st July, 1996. I quote:

Mr. President, on the 28th of June we had received a text of a draft CTBT from the Chairman of the Ad hoc committee on Nuclear Test Ban, Ambassador Ramakar. My Government gave this text contained in WP 330-Rev.1 its most careful and detailed consideration. We examined if this Treaty w as the Treaty which we had been mandated to negotiate by the CD and for which India had entered the negotiations two and a half years ago, participating in them constructively and with seriousness. it was with disappointment and regret that we noted that this text is not very different from the earlier Working Paper of the Chairman which had led us to state on the 20th of June that we could not sign the Treaty in that form. This text, while it does contain a Treaty, does not contain the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty we had been mandated to negotiate nor does it meet India's basic concerns. Therefore, our position as stated on 20th June not to sign this Treaty in this form, stands.

Mr. President, the present text not only ignores our substantive objections but also contains an Article, Article XIV, to which we have the strongest objections. The Article, as it is presently drafted, not only totally disregards the fact that we have stated that we will not sign this treaty today, tomorrow or in three years time but seeks to enforce our signature by means unprecedented in treaty negotiating practice in that it creates obligations for a country without its consent and therefore runs contrary to customary international law. We understand that this formula is not in accordance with the wishes of the majority of delegations who have but reluctantly accepted it but has been retained because of the rigid positions adopted by a small number of delegations. Clearly, those who support this formula do not wish, for their own reasons, this treaty to come into force-ever. With a view to correcting this unacceptable situation, I had proposed an amendment to Article XIV in the Ad-hoc committee which would follow the precedent of the Chemical Weapons Convention. This proposed amendment reads:

"This Treaty shall enter in to force 180 days after the date of the deposit of the Instruments of Ratification by 65 States and no less than two years after its opening for signature. "

Mr. President, I sincerely hope that it would be possible for the Ad hoc Committee on Nuclear Test Ban to accept a modification to the present text of Article XIV. If, however, the present text is sought to be retained, I am instructed to inform the Conference that India would be reluctantly obliged to oppose such efforts. While we do not wish to prevent other countries form exercising their sovereign right to adopt a Treaty to which they wish to accede, we cannot have our sovereign right not to sign the Treaty taken away and accept obligations on India that we cannot and will not accept.

Mr. President, my delegation would commend to the members of the CD, the amendment proposed by us to Article XIV to enable a just and fair solution to one of the problems currently facing the Ad-Hoc Committee.

Mr. President, India's commitment to global nuclear disarmament remains unchanged and undiminished. We will continue to work, with like minded countries towards that end. We have therefore, together with 28 other countries of the G-21 supported the phased program for nuclear disarmament presented by the Coordinator of the G-21 today. It is a statement of our belief that work on a Treaty on the total elimination of nuclear weapons must start urgently even more so in the present circumstances.