Press Release
GA/DIS/3175
COLLECTIVE SECURITY, RISING SECURITY RISKS, NUCLEAR-FREE MIDDLE EAST AMONG ISSUES DISCUSSED, AS FIRST COMMITTEE CONTINUES GENERAL DEBATE
20001009With separate regions no longer fragmenting the collective security of today's world, international peace and security must be pursued at both the regional and international levels, the First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) was told this morning, as it continued its general debate.
The representative of Iran, noting that the Persian Gulf region was among the most sensitive in the world, said that the countries of the region should take practical steps to eliminate the suspicion and mistrust capable of provoking renewed confrontation. Eliminating nuclear weapons must be at the top of the list in any reshaped global and regional security architecture. Effective delivery systems, on which weapons of mass destruction depended, posed legitimate concerns. His current draft resolution on missiles would focus on the creation of a study group to assist the Secretary-General in preparing a comprehensive report on the subject.
The representative of Iraq said he focused his statement on the security situation in his country and in occupied Palestine as examples of discriminatory policies by the United States to "ride roughshod" over the law. Indeed, international security risks had increased since the end of the cold war, owing to the arms race, foreign aggression and the occupation of and interference in the internal affairs of States. Unilateral military acts or military threats against the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of States must be prevented. Threats to the very survival of humankind would increase unless the international community renounced the use of force in international relations and sought security in the field of disarmament.
Seeking to contribute towards the establishment of a nuclear-weapon- free zone in the Middle East, the Government of Qatar had joined the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as well as the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), that country's representative said. The threat of nuclear war continued to press on the region; making it nuclear- weapon-free was the only way to institute a durable peace and justice there. All the countries of the region had joined the NPT, with the exception of Israel, which must be pressured to do so.
Citing the highest arms expenditures since the end of the cold war, the representative of Nicaragua said that the achievement of genuine disarmament had remained elusive. Since the end of civil war in Nicaragua, his Government had
First Committee - 1a - Press Release GA/DIS/3175 9th Meeting (AM) 9 October 2000
been buying weapons in order to destroy them or trade them for consumer goods, and former combatants had been trained and reintegrated. Major progress had also recently been made to ban the use of landmines. Beginning last year, the Nicaraguan armed forces destroyed some 60,000 mines. On the country's northern borders formerly mine-infested, the raising of crops had resumed and coffee producers had begun harvesting.
The representative of Mozambique said that putting the landmines question on the international agenda had helped mobilize collective efforts to combat them. The second meeting of the States parties to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (Ottawa Convention), recently held in Geneva, had reaffirmed the unwavering commitment to the total eradication of those weapons and to addressing their "insidious and inhumane" effects.
Statements were also made by the representatives of Ecuador, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Nigeria, and Jamaica on behalf of the Caribbean Community.
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) will meet again Tuesday, at 3 p.m., to continue its general debate.
First Committee - 3 - Press Release GA/DIS/3175 9th Meeting (AM) 9 October 2000
Committee Work Programme
The First Committee (Disarmament and International Security) met this afternoon to continue its general debate. The representatives of the following countries were expected to participate in today's discussion: Iran, Iraq, Ecuador, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Qatar, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Nigeria and Jamaica.
The Committee's debate is focused on, among other items, the recent outcome of the 2000 Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in which the nuclear-weapon States agreed to an "unequivocal undertaking" to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals. They also agreed that the achievement of that goal offered the "only absolute guarantee" against the use of such weapons.
The final document of the NPT Review Conference marked only the second time that the five-year Review produced a consensus. The outcome, according to the Under-Secretary-General for Disarmament Affairs, had expressed the world's "unambiguous" lack of confidence in the ability of either deterrence or defence to prevent another Hiroshima or Nagasaki. The NPT provides the legal foundation for multilateral actions to prohibit the proliferation of nuclear weapons and to advance nuclear disarmament. Considered by many experts to be the bedrock of the non-proliferation regime, it is the most universal of all disarmament agreements, with 187 parties.
Treaties banning the production and stockpiling of other weapons of mass destruction will also be highlighted. Those included the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxin Weapons and on Their Destruction (Biological Weapons Convention); and the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (Chemical Weapons Convention).
The pending entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) will also be considered, as well as the creation and consolidation of nuclear-weapon-free zones. Existing zones included the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (Treaty of Tlatelolco), the South Pacific Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Rarotonga), the South-East Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Bangkok) and the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (Treaty of Pelindaba). Committee drafts are anticipated for the establishment of such zones in the Middle East, Central Europe and South Asia.
Attention will also be directed at developments concerning the following bilateral arrangements: the 1972 Treaty on the Limitation of Anti-Ballistic Missile Systems (ABM Treaty), by which the United States and the Russian Federation agreed to limit the deployment and development of anti-ballistic missiles; and the Strategic Arms Limitation and Reduction Treaties (START), by which the two countries also agreed to significantly reduce the number of deployed strategic nuclear warheads; and the CTBT.
The landmines issue will likely be examined in the context of the two instruments to ban or limit their use -- Protocol II of the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Deemed To Be Excessively Injurious or To Have Indiscriminate Effects (Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons), and the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (Ottawa Convention).
(For detailed background, see Press Release GA/DIS/3168 issued on 29 September.)
Statements
HADI NEJAD-HOSSEINIAN (Iran) said that this year, the unprecedented Millennium Summit had adopted an important communiqué stressing the interrelationship between international security and disarmament. In particular, world leaders had called for the elimination of nuclear weapons and the reduction of nuclear danger -- in a manifestation of the political will to remove the global threat posed by weapons of mass destruction. The global and regional security architecture should be reshaped in the new security environment. In that context, the elimination of nuclear weapons, capable of destroying the entire planet, should be among the highest priorities.
He said that the successful outcome of the 2000 NPT Review Conference had produced a general road map and created fresh optimism that practical steps would be taken to achieve the lofty goal of eliminating nuclear weapons. Accordingly, the United Nations disarmament machinery should adjust its programme of work to respond to that universal call. Fortunately, the Disarmament Commission had begun nuclear disarmament deliberations, for the first time in its history. He hoped that in the next two years those discussions would contribute substantially to advancing nuclear disarmament. The Conference on Disarmament, as the sole multilateral disarmament negotiating forum, should also begin negotiations on that subject, as well as on the prohibition of the production of fissile material for weapons. The prevailing situation in the Conference had so far been disappointing.
The universality of NPT membership was an integral part of achieving a nuclear-weapon-free world, he said. That objective was of particular importance in the Middle East, where all other countries, except Israel, had joined that Treaty. Moreover, Israel had refused to place its nuclear facilities under the safeguards system of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA). Such a development would contribute to establishing a zone free of nuclear and other weapons of mass destruction, as called for in 25 years of General Assembly drafts.
Also concerning the NPT, he said that negative security assurances had been among the most important objectives on the agenda for a very long time. Unfortunately, discussions had been limited. The differing security status of countries had prevented the conclusion of such assurances and had perpetuated their highly controversial nature. Moreover, there was no agreement to keep the matter under serious consideration.
He said that, although the Chemical and Biological Weapons Conventions had been concluded, and the protocol to the latter was under negotiation, those two treaties still lacked universality, rendering the crucial ban of those weapons far from unconditional. He, therefore, strongly called on all States to join those treaties without delay. He also strongly called for full implementation of promoting the transfer of high technology for peaceful purposes. Once again, the General Assembly should reaffirm its previous calls, in 1996 and 1998, and request the withdrawal of all reservations to the 1925 Geneva Protocol, concerning a ban in war on the use of asphyxiating, poisonous or other gases and of bacteriological methods of warfare. The decision by the Canadian Government to do so was welcome.
Effective delivery systems, on which weapons of mass destruction depended, posed legitimate concerns to the international community, he said. He had submitted a related resolution on that subject last year, which had been widely adopted. Some Member States had made a substantial contribution in terms of their written views to the Secretary-General. He hoped there would be fewer abstentions on the forthcoming vote on the text, which would be focused on the idea of establishing a United Nations study group to assist the Secretary- General in submitting a comprehensive report on missiles to the next General Assembly session.
Efforts to ban weapons of mass destruction should not detract attention from conventional arms, he said. The illicit trafficking in small arms had resulted in bloody conflicts and each month claimed the lives of hundreds of innocent people. The 2001 Conference on the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects should substantively address some practical measures to prevent such tragedies. The preparatory work in the next two sessions would be crucial and should prepare the organizational ground, including a draft action plan.
He said that separate regions no longer fragmented today's world. Rather, security was linked. Thus, all efforts to promote peace and remove tensions must be pursued at the regional and international levels. The Persian Gulf region was among those sensitive areas in which regional security would contribute to international security. The wars in that region had created suspicion and mistrust, which must not lead to a new confrontation. Thus, the countries of the region should address that fundamental issue and take practical steps to eliminate such concerns. Iran had the largest border with the Persian Gulf. Thus, it had adopted a policy of detente and an easing of regional tension, which was essential to the adoption of comprehensive peace and security.
SAEED HASAN (Iraq) said that the risks to international security had increased since the end of the cold war. People had been robbed of their basic human rights as a result of the arms race, foreign aggression and the occupation of and interference in the internal affairs of States. Discriminatory policies, United Nations Charter violations and inhumane sanctions had also robbed people of their most basic human rights. Unless the international community doubled its efforts to renounce the use of force in international relations and achieve security in the field of disarmament, the threat posed to humanity's very survival would increase.
He cited the rule of law in international relations as the way forward in providing suitable conditions in which to halt the arms race and achieve disarmament progress. Iraq's plight had illustrated the effects of the use of brute force in international relations. The United States, in the name of the United Nations, had imposed comprehensive sanctions against Iraq in 1990. Those had led to the death of 500,000 children under the age of five, as confirmed in a report of the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) published on 12 August 1999. Combined with the death of 1 million other Iraqis, the number of deaths was greater than the number of all of the victims of the use of weapons of mass destruction worldwide.
The crime went on unabated, he said, as 7,000 Iraqi children had been martyred, owing to the use of American neutron bombs, in the name of comprehensive sanctions. Reportedly, the sanctions against Iraq had violated the United Nations Charter, international and humanitarian law, as embodied in the report of the subcommittee to promote the protection of human rights at its fifty-second session, held in Geneva from 31 July to 18 August. The report had underlined that the comprehensive sanctions against Iraq were illegitimate under international humanitarian law and human rights law.
He said that the United States had dropped more than 100,000 tons of bombs on Iraq, equal to six or seven nuclear bombs of the kind that were dropped on Hiroshima. Those had destroyed Iraqi infrastructure and had obviously sought to return the country to the pre-industrial age. In the course of their aggression, the United States and the United Kingdom had fired more than 1 million shots of depleted uranium on Iraq, representing the first time that radiological weapons were used in war. Their use had led to health and environmental catastrophes, which would endanger several future generations of Iraqis. Those had also led to the suffering of thousands of American and British soldiers in what had been called the "Gulf syndrome". That crime against humanity should be punished and those responsible should compensate his country for the damages and restore the environment.
He said there was an urgent need to conclude an international agreement prohibiting the production and use of depleted uranium for weapons. Since 1991, the United States and the United Kingdom had imposed a no-fly zone in northern Iraq, which it expanded in 1992 to include southern Iraq. Those two countries had used their aircraft extensively over Iraqi territories to bomb them "incessantly". It had been "a declared and continued war" since 1991, and the use of force had contravened the United Nations Charter. Thousands had been victimized by that illegal use of force. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Turkey had collaborated in that aggression by providing air bases for American and British aircraft.
Continuing, he said that the use by the United States of the United Nations as a cover for its aggression had not ceased. Moreover, the United States had used the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) to spy on Iraq and provide false reports about its non-compliance with the relevant Security Council resolutions. The United States had actually "killed" the Special Commission on 16 December 1998, so that its spying activities might not be revealed. Nonetheless, the facts had emerged. So had confirmation that Iraq had fulfilled its disarmament obligations. Thus, the sanctions should be lifted, but that had not taken place because the goals of the United States in the Security Council resolutions were so different from the resolutions themselves.
Since 18 September, he said, Zionist forces had unleashed a new campaign of oppression against the Palestinians, through the use of tanks, helicopters, missiles and such prohibited ammunition as dumdum bullets and cluster bombs. Photographs from the scene had provided examples of the destructive ability of anti-personnel mines. The culture of hegemony and racism had also revealed the true risk of weapons of mass destruction. The Israeli nuclear arms programme had not been subjected to the NPT regime. Israel's refusal to accede to the NPT had threatened regional and international security and perpetuated the discriminatory nuclear non-proliferation regime. It was untenable that the very existence of Arab security had thus been violated.
He said he had focused on Iraq and occupied Palestine as an example of what was taking place in other parts of world as a result of hegemony by the United States. Indeed, that country had used force and "ridden roughshod" over the law. Such challenges must be confronted by two indivisible tracks. First, there must be a strict commitment to the United Nations Charter and international law, in a way that prevented unilateral military acts or military threats against the territorial integrity, sovereignty and independence of States. Second, it was critical to build upon disarmament achievements, proceeding from the strategy adopted at the tenth special session of the General Assembly in 1978, particularly the priority given to nuclear disarmament.
MARIO ALEMAN (Ecuador) said that the encouraging trends that were emerging from the end of the cold war had been reversed. However, the United Nations, through its activities, had made possible renewed optimism for nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. It had managed to translate into reality long standing aspirations of the international community in the disarmament arena.
He said that the early ratification of the treaty on the complete ban on nuclear testing was indispensable. Those countries that had not signed the treaty should do so without further delay so that it would enter into force as a legal instrument. His country had always supported nuclear disarmament. It believed that the creation of nuclear-weapon-free zones strengthened nuclear non-proliferation.
He expressed his country's support for the convening of an international conference on ways to eliminate nuclear dangers, as contained in the Millennium Summit Declaration. He warned that a new arms race might bring in its wake unforeseen consequences, with major repercussions for international peace and security. Action in nuclear disarmament must go hand in hand with the control of conventional weapons. The residual effects of regional conflicts had led to an expansion in the trafficking in small and light arms. For the first time since the end of the cold war, expenditures on small arms and light weapons had increased, rising to $780 billion. Those weapons fueled insecurity and had profound social ramifications. Governments must shoulder more responsibility in controlling the movement of such weapons.
His country took an active hand in hammering out the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction (Ottawa Convention). Ecuador believed that that the Convention was beneficial to international peace and security. Getting rid of landmines was a priority issue to his country.
KIM CHANG GUK (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) said that enormous challenges to peace and development continued to lie ahead for the planet. Hostile relations between countries remained, and the concept of confrontation was alive. Non-existent "threats" were created, and enemy States were made artificially. New weapon systems were developed, and military alliances were strengthened in the name of defence. The intention to maintain nuclear weapons was unchanged, and the demand for the elimination of nuclear weapons was marginalized by a one-sided focus on nuclear non-proliferation.
National missile defence and theatre missile defence systems were, in essence, aimed at dominating the world by superior power, since they were based on power politics and the theory of nuclear predominance. Disarmament could not be realized by the effort of one side only. Peace and security could not be expected, as along as strong countries dominated weak countries by force. Where there was oppression, there was reaction. The United Nations should convert nuclear disarmament into a United Nations process. His country would always strive to bring about peace and security on the planet, in close collaboration with the Member States.
In June, he said, a Summit meeting of the North and South of Korea was held in Pyongyang and a joint declaration made public. That meeting and declaration marked a historic milestone in achieving the cause of the independent reunification of his nation. Today, North-South ministerial talks and other contacts and dialogue were being conducted for the implementation of the joint declaration and a positive atmosphere for peace and reunification was created. His country would continue to pursue peace in Asia and the rest of the world by bringing about the early peaceful reunification of Korea through the implementation of that declaration. "In order to achieve stable peace and security in Korea and Asia, it is imperative to eliminate hostile relations and withdraw foreign troops in the region", he said.
He added that the "nuclear issue" on the Korean Peninsula was one between his country and the United States. It would be resolved with the implementation of the Democratic People's Republic-United States Agreed Framework. It would be helpful to the resolution of the issue to ask for the implementation of that Framework.
ADEL ALI AL-KHAL (Qatar) said that the Millennium Summit Declaration and the report of the Secretary-General on the role of the United Nations were documents of fundamental importance in setting the priorities for future international action. The cause of disarmament and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction were among the principal challenges confronting the international community. The international community should identify the direct causes of those phenomena in order to find the necssary solutions. The fundamental question was whether the international community was ready to save future generations from the scourge of war.
Qatar had acceded to the NPT and to the CTBT, in that way contributing towards the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East, he said. The creation of such a zone was the only way to institute durable peace and justice in the region. The threat of nuclear war continued to press on the region. All the States of the region had acceded to the NPT, with the exception of Israel, which refused to submit its nuclear facilities to the guarantees and verification of the IAEA. The international community must put pressure on Israel to adhere to the Treaty.
He commended the measures taken by Mongolia to adopt non-nuclear status. Such an example could be followed by the countries of the Middle East.
CESAR GOUVEIA (Mozambique) said that the Millennium Summit had debated vital issues relating to the maintenance of peace, security and disarmament. Despite some positive developments, the world still faced some serious threats emanating from the indiscriminate use of small arms and light weapons, and nuclear and biological weapons. The proliferation of those arms, the continuation of nuclear testing and the refusal of key States to ratify the CTBT were of deep concern. The international community must do its utmost to address that situation.
He said that weapons of mass destruction -- a heritage of the cold war period -- might have been important then, but whatever rationale they once had, had long since passed. It was, therefore, terribly disappointing that the world still harboured some 35,000 nuclear weapons. He hoped the historic consensus achieved at the 2000 NPT Review Conference had planted the seeds of hope that a final solution to nuclear proliferation was close at hand. The NPT also established an international standard -- no longer would States parties be allowed to use or threaten to use nuclear weapons with impunity. The call made at the NPT Review Conference had been simple and clear: Free the world from weapons of mass destruction.
Another issue of great concern to his delegation was the question of landmines, he went on. Those weapons continued to kill, maim and threaten the lives of innocent people around the world, including in Mozambique. The entry into force of the Ottawa Convention had demonstrated the determination of the international community to free the world of those deadly weapons. It had been fundamental in putting the issue of landmines on the international agenda and had helped mobilized international cooperation and collective efforts to combat those dangerous devices. The second meeting of the States parties to the Convention, recently held in Geneva, had reaffirmed the unwavering commitment to the total eradication of anti-personnel mines and to addressing their "insidious and inhumane" effects.
He said that since the entry into force of the Ottawa Convention, its parties had grown steadily, as a testament to the vitality of that legal instrument. It must be underscored, however, that the Convention's ultimate objective of universal adherence had remained elusive. Only such universality could ensure the complete ban of the use, stockpiling, production and transfer of landmines. All States that had not yet done so should join the Treaty. Hopefully, the draft resolution on the subject would achieve widespread Committee support.
The illicit trafficking in and proliferation of small arms and light weapons posed a serious threat to global peace and security, he said. Those weapons, which were now being used nearly all over the globe, had been the primary cause of the deaths of women, children and older persons. The proliferation of those weapons was not merely a security problem. They were of easy access and a source of social and political tension. They fueled armed conflicts, threatened legitimate governments and were increasingly used by terrorists and organized crime.
He said that the international community should not sit idly and watch fellow citizens fall prey to the estimated 500 million small arms and light weapons. It was imperative to negotiate an international framework to curb their illicit traffic. He hoped the final documents of the 2001 conference on those weapons would provide a global framework for concerted action by the international community. Concerning the lack of a programme in multilateral negotiations on nuclear disarmament, nuclear-weapon States must reaffirm their political commitment and immediately supplement it with practical disarmament. Only then could people enjoy a nuclear-weapon-free world.
MARIO H. CASTELLON DUARTE (Nicaragua) said that the achievement of genuine disarmament had remained elusive. Arms expenditures, on the rise for the first time since the end of the cold war, were alarming, at approximately $780 billion. On the other hand, some progress had been achieved, including at the 2000 NPT Review Conference, where States parties reaffirmed that universal adherence to that Treaty played a vital role in promoting international peace and security. Strict compliance with the CTBT was also vital in that regard and would make it possible to move towards a nuclear-weapon-free world.
Another step forward had been the ratification of START II by the Russian Federation, he said. As a State party to the Tlatelolco Treaty, his country supported the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones in all regions of the world. Their creation and consolidation must be promoted. He supported the convening of the Conference on small arms. In that regard, a major effort should be made to encourage a global approach. Attaining meaningful goals required commitments by governments, civil society, and the private sector. The issue was of particular importance to his Government, since those were the weapons of choice in domestic conflicts, terrorist activities and drug trafficking. The victims were always defenceless civilians.
He said that ever since the end of the civil war in Nicaragua the Government had been buying weapons in order to destroy them. Moreover, former combatants had been trained and reintegrated. Major progress had also recently been made to ban the use of landmines. The Ottawa Convention had played a fundamental role and "broken a ratification record" with more than 100 States parties. Nevertheless, much remained to be done to overcome the challenges of anti-personnel mines, especially in light of the number of victims, particularly women and children.
Sensitive to the destruction caused by the mines, the Nicaraguan armed forces, beginning in 1999, had already destroyed some 60,000 mines, representing 40 per cent compliance with the treaty, he said. His country's mine destruction programme would conclude in 2004. On the northern borders, which were once impenetrable due to the implantation of mines, crops were now being raised and coffee producers could harvest.
SIMEON ADEKANYE (Nigeria) said that the bilateral arms reduction process should not be allowed to falter. Rather, it should reflect a shared commitment to a continuing decline in the number of nuclear weapons. However, such a process should complement multilateral negotiations, in which all countries had a stake. The international community needed to exploit the newly found unity of purpose exhibited at the Millennium Summit to undertake multilateral negotiations on nuclear disarmament, the prevention of an arms race in outer space and the fissile-material treaty.
His country took seriously the commitments of the nuclear-weapon States to comply with the decisions on the principles and objectives of non-proliferation and disarmament as they related to article VI of the NPT. Those commitments, as well as other important decisions reached at the 2000 NPT Review Conference, if implemented, would strengthen confidence in the Treaty. There should be a new political will to negotiate an unambiguous, legally-binding instrument that would provide assurance to non-nuclear-weapon States against nuclear attack.
On 8 September, during the Millennium Summit, President Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria signed the CTBT, he continued. That action represented Nigeria's irrevocable commitment to a nuclear-free world. The necessary constitutional processes had been set in motion for the early ratification of the Treaty by the Nigerian Senate. Efforts to confront the new security challenges facing mankind would come to nought unless Member States, particularly those whose ratification was essential to the coming into force of the Treaty, summoned the political will to sign it.
Nigeria shared the concern of the international community that the easy availability of small arms and light weapons escalated conflicts and undermined political stability, he went on. The upcoming United Nations Conference on small arms was one opportunity for responding to the challenges posed by the scourge of arms. The success of that Conference would be judged by the adoption of a concrete and achievable international action programme, as well as follow- up actions. The elements of such a programme should include increased transparency, accountability, an international code of conduct, enhanced national export and import controls, information exchange, marking and tracing, international cooperation and assistance, and practical disarmament measures, such as demobilization, weapons collection and destruction in post-conflict situations.
DIANE QUARLESS (Jamaica), on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), said that the outcome of the sixth Review Conference of the NPT, which secured an important undertaking from the nuclear-weapon States for the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals, was significant. Emerging from a record of stalled negotiations and unfulfilled commitments, that indication of intent was indeed very welcome. Jamaica looked forward to seeing those words transformed into demonstrable action. There was still much to be done.
In the Caribbean, traffic in illicit arms, fuelled mainly by the illegal drug trade, continued unabated, undermining the security of the region and destroying the social fabric of communities, she went on. The proliferation of small arms was taking a toll, not only on human life but on the region's development prospects. Concerted international action was urgently needed. The CARICOM looked forward to a meaningful outcome of the first Conference on small arms next year. It hoped that the meeting would decisively address the establishment of a comprehensive legal framework defining national, regional and international measures to curb the illegal traffic in those arms.
She called for more assistance to those States addressing the difficult task of demining and for support to the victims of landmine explosions. The progress achieved in decreased production of anti-personnel landmines, in the destruction of stockpiles, in the demining of land and in the reduction of casualties from landmine blasts, as reported to the second meeting of the States parties to the Ottawa Convention, was an encouraging indication of commitment to the full implementation of that Convention.
She said that the positive outcome of the NPT Review Conference had provided the nuclear non-proliferation process with a fresh point of departure. The CARICOM hoped that that would lead to constructive engagement on social issues on the disarmament agenda. It continued to underscore the importance of the universality of the NPT and the early ratification of the CTBT.
The CARICOM considered particularly important the conclusions and recommendations of the NPT Review Conference regarding the strengthening of measures and international regulations to protect States from the risks associated with the maritime transportation of radioactive materials. It continued to call for the cessation of that practice. The international community should consider the establishment of a comprehensive regulatory framework promoting greater State responsibility in such areas as disclosure, liability and compensation in relation to accidents.
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