Kofi Annan, Secretary General of United Nations, spoke to the Conference of Disarmament (CD) at the Wednesday 21 June plenary meeting. All regional groups, China, the Group of 21, the Western Group and the Eastern European Group, and the European Union took the floor and commented the Secretary General's statement.

Sleepwalking towards nuclear proliferation, or gaining momentum for disarmament?
Kofi Annan warned the international community that it seemed to be sleepwalking down a path where a growing numbers of states feel obliged to arm themselves with nuclear weapons-"not by conscious choice, but rather through miscalculation, sterile debate and paralysis of the very multilateral mechanisms created for confidence-building and conflict-resolution." After calling prioritizing either non-proliferation or disarmament over the other self-defeating, Annan said the CD "must devalue the currency of nuclear weapons".

He told the Conference on Disarmament it is the single group with the "collective power to wake the world up," and called on it to rise to the challenge by beginning work without linking issues to each other as they are in the popular Five Ambassadors' proposal. He urged the CD members to put their "differences and well-rehearsed arguments" behind them.

The Secretary General noticed that for the first time in a decade, the CD is working on an agreed schedule, with structured debates on key issue, scientific and other experts contributions, more intense and frequent meetings and that the Presidents of the Conference had made particular efforts to reflect the security concerns of all states.

"I hope that these steps represent the beginnings of a new period of productivity. It is long overdue for this negotiating body to abandon the all-consuming linkages that have dominated your approach in recent years, and get down to substantive work," he said.

Although China followed the Secretary-General's statement with reassurances that they are ready to start working, they reiterated their support for the linkages Annan just suggested abandoning when they called for a "balanced and comprehensive program of work."

The Group of 21 renewed their commitment to foster a consensus, will do their utmost to enable the Conference to start its substantive work, and called on the Conference to demonstrate flexibility in order to do so.

Although there are still important bridges to build, the Western Group said the recent progress gave the CD hope for getting back to work.

The Eastern European Group believed the signal sent by Annan's speech would "strengthen an atmosphere of constructive cooperation" so the CD could get back to work.

The EU saw the common platform created by the 6 Presidents of the Conference as a window of opportunity to move forward. "We can achieve progress with a combination of prioritizing, and at the same time allowing for a just and meaningful consideration of the concerns of all stakeholders."

All the groups thanked the Secretary General for his statement and hoped it would give impetus to the Conference.

The next plenary meeting will be held on Thursday 22 June, when the focused debate on Agenda item 5 will continue. As this will be the last plenary meeting of the Russian Presidency, they are also planning a summary report.

-Jennifer Nordstrom, Reaching Critical Will and 
Beatrice Fihn, Disarmament Intern 
Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

Summary
Ray Acheson, Reaching Critical Will and Michael Spies, Arms Control Reporter

Today’s formal plenary meeting marked the beginning of the Syrian Presidency of the Conference on Disarmament, the last Presidency of the 2007 CD session. Ambassador Hamoui gave opening remarks commending the progress the CD has accomplished thus far, while calling on the Conference to continue to move forward. The CD heard a statement from the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Mr. Sergio Duarte. South Africa, on behalf of the Group of 21, Italy, and Peru made brief interventions. The Secretary-General of the CD, Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze also addressed the Conference emphasizing the good investment and good progress that has been made this year.

In his opening address to the Conference, CD President Ambassador Hamoui was optimistic about the coming work of the CD under the Syrian Presidency. During the last weeks of the CD session, Ambassador Hamoui stated he will continue consultations and contacts with delegations and assist the Conference in its work to prepare a comprehensive report on the 2007 session and a draft resolution to be adopted by the UN General Assembly in October.

Ambassador Hamoui also emphasized Syria’s commitment to ridding the Middle East region of nuclear weapons and continued efforts to create a Middle East Nuclear Weapons Free Zone. He also extended his sincere condolences on behalf of the Conference to the family and friends of the victims of the recent earthquake in Peru.

The High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Mr. Sergio Duarte, followed with a brief observation noting the Conference “stands tantalizingly one short step away from resolving its longstanding impasse,” and, “the investment that has gone into reaching this year’s effort to find common ground deserves careful analysis.”

In his opinion, the considerable investment from this year’s Presidents, Coordinators, and every CD Member State reflects the common desire that the CD should “fulfill its mandate as a negotiating body rather than a forum for debate.” It also reveals that CD Members are prepared to work towards results on the four core issues of the Conference and can do so in  “a comprehensive, calibrated timetable or schedule of activities,” which Mr. Duarte compared to a “programme of work.” He called on the Conference to accurately reflect the intensity of its work this year and its determination to demonstrate its potential as a negotiating body in its report to the General Assembly.

Mr. Duarte reminded the Conference “that the rules of procedure guarantee that each Member can protect its concerns at any decision-point along the way”. Mr. Duarte then quoted Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon’s address to the Conference, stating that “finding a fair accommodation now would deprive no Member of the ability to assert its national position’ in phases that follow.” He then pledged his full support to the Secretary-General of the CD, its Members, and the broader Geneva disarmament community, including civil society.

The Secretary-General of the CD, Mr. Sergei Ordzhonikidze, South Africa, on behalf of the Group of 21, Italy, and Peru all expressed support for Mr. Duarte’s statement.

Italy appealed to the Conference to keep its momentum at this important juncture and not lose focus in the coming recess.

Peru referred to the recent tragedy caused by a massive earthquake south of Lima which resulted in more than five hundred deaths and ‘immeasurable material loss.’ Peru stated that while this type of tragedy is an inevitable natural disaster, this event should make the Conference think of other types of tragedies that it has the power to prevent. Peru reiterated its hopes that the CD will succeed in adopting a program of work in order to avoid deaths, victims, and disasters which can be prevented by a commitment from all Members of the CD.

The next formal plenary meeting will be Thursday, August 30th at 10am. CD President Ambassador Hamoui announced that he hopes to have the CD’s draft report to the General Assembly available by that time.

- Katherine Harrison, Women's International League for Peace and Freedom

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