Dear Reaching Critical Will friends and advisors,
Both the Conference on Disarmament and the CTBT Entry Into Force Conference concluded in September, while the General Assembly has just opened its 62nd session. As the General Assembly begins its work, the challenges and issues are clearly laid out. WILPF believes that through confidence-building measures, the strengthening of verification systems and regimes, and strict adherence to international law, nuclear disarmament is possible. We do not have to reinvent the wheel—we just have to support, use, and reinforce the existing viable and effective tools we have already created through diplomacy and multilateralism. It is imperative that the citizens of the world continue monitoring, questioning, and pressuring their governments to support the strengthening of international treaties such as the CTBT and fora such as the CD, with faith that international law will prevail over the absurdity of nuclear militarism.
Best wishes,
Ray Acheson, Project Associate
1) CTBT Entry Into Force Conference concludes
The fifth Article XIV Conference was held 17-18 September 2007 in Vienna, Austria. Member states adopted the Final Declaration and Measures to Promote the Entry Into Force of the CTBT on 18 September, in which states "affirmed the importance and urgency of signatures and ratifications without delay to achieve early entry into force of the Treaty as one of the practical steps for the systematic and progressive efforts towards nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation". They also called upon all states to sustain the voluntary moratorium on nuclear explosions, and to "refrain from acts which would defeat the object and purpose of the Treaty. In addition, the document outlines eleven practical measures to promote the Treaty's entry into force.
Other key statements included those by CTBTO Executive Secretary Tibor Toth, Conference Presidents H.E. Ursula Plassnik (Foreign Minister of Austria) and H.E. Bruno Stagno Ugarte (Foreign Minister of Costa Rica), and Ambassador Jaap Ramaker, Special Representative to promote the CTBT ratification process. Many of the speakers emphasized the universal importance of the entry into force of the CTBT as a tool of international, regional, and national security and of human security. H.E. Ugarte of Costa Rica noted that the CTBT "also helps prevent further devastation of human health and the global environment," and that it's entry into force "would greatly reduce the climate of distrust and discontent which has been penetrating the field of disarmament, which distorts all discussions and which makes it even more difficult to address some of today's key challenges posed by the threats of nuclear proliferation."
The NGO statement was delivered on 18 September. The statement was endorsed by 42 organizations. The full version is available on the RCW website, as is the WILPF statement. Along with the rest of the international community, WILPF urges China, Colombia, DPRK, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Iran, Israel, Pakistan, and the US to sign and ratify the CTBT. Every state has more to gain by ratifying the Treaty than by remaining outside of the international cooperative security regime.
For more information on the Conference and the CTBT in general, and access to the statements to the Conference, please see the RCW website.
2) The CD closes its third and final session for 2007
The CD's annual report was adopted by consensus in the last formal plenary on 13 September. The report reflects the progress of the 2007 session towards consensus on a program of work, chronicling the development of the "Presidential Proposal", making note of the intensive consultations between the P6 and delegations held before, between, and throughout the 2007 sessions, and outlining the P6 decision to appoint Coordinators to chair informal meetings on each of the seven agenda items. The report also notes the situation that developed in the CD when certain Member States continued to block consensus on the Proposal while the majority of the Conference was ready to move forward. Looking ahead to continuing the progress made in the CD this year, many delegations took the floor to express their frustration and hopes for achieving a consensus on the L.1 package. Governmental statements and the final CD Report can be accessed on the RCW website.
As this year's session of the Conference on Disarmament draws to a close, it is evident that there is a sense of pragmatic and cautious optimism in the Conference chamber about the coming year. While many delegations are frustrated and disappointed that the CD was unable to reach consensus on a program of work, there is a clear sense of wanting to build on what the CD was able to accomplish this year, to continue the momentum into next year's work, and to achieve concrete results.
3) UN General Assembly - RCW's Disarmament Index and First Committee Monitor
The UN General Assembly opened its 62nd session on Tuesday, 18 September. The General Debate will begin on Tuesday, 25 September. Heads of state, foreign ministers, or other high-level representatives will address the entire international community to express their state's concerns, priorities, and opinions. During the General Debate, RCW complies all references to disarmament, peace, and security, and creates an online index by country and by topic. The statements from the General Debate will give us an idea of the issues on which governments will be focusing during the General Assembly First Committee, which begins on October 8.
The Index will be available following the General Debate on the RCW website:
By country: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/1com07/disarmindex.html
By topic: http://www.reachingcriticalwill.org/political/1com/1com07/disarmindextopic.html
First Committee Monitor
Reaching Critical Will follows the General Assembly First Committee (beginning Monday, 8 October) and publishes issue-based summaries of the negotiations, resolutions, and votes. We send our First Committee Monitor to our email lists in HTML and PDF form, and make it available online. The HTML version is chock-full of hyper-links to more information, treaty texts, and organizations, and the PDF version prints into an accessible, attractive newsletter. We encourage you to use this easy resource to see what your government is saying and doing on disarmament in the international arena. There is no other source following these issues as closely. To receive this weekly newsletter by email, send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. subscribe First Committee Monitor" in the subject line - and please indicate whether you prefer the HTML or PDF version, or both.
Advertising space: You can use the First Committee Monitor to publicize an important announcement, event, or project hosted by your organization. Monitors are distributed to all of the delegates at the First Committee every Monday, through a free email subscription, and are archived on our website, www.reachingcriticalwill.org . By placing an ad in the Monitor, you will be able to get your message across to hundreds of well-informed members of the disarmament community.
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4) Space Security Index 2007 just released by Project Ploughshares
Space Security 2007 is comprehensive source of data and analysis on space activities and their cumulative impact on the security of outer space.The report is part of an annual series produced the Space Security Index, whose partners include the Cypress Fund for Peace and Security, the Institute of Air and Space Law at McGill University, Project Ploughshares, Secure World Foundation, the Simons Centre for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Research at the University of British Columbia, and the Space Generation Foundation. It is supported by the Canadian Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade and the Ford Foundation.
The Space Security 2007 publication is available as a free download at www.spacesecurity.org/publications.htm along with an overview of the survey results. Hard copies can be purchased from Project Ploughshares, which coordinates the Space Security Index project.
For more information, or to purchase a hard copy of the report, please contact Jessica West, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
5) Other disarmament and non-proliferation conferences in October
On 2-3 October, the International Coalition to Ban Uranium Weapons is holding its 2007 Conference, on "Uranium Weapons: Contributing to a Dangerous World." The conference will take place in the Church Center, 777 UN Plaza, 2nd Floor, New York, NY, 10017. The program is posted online at http://www.bandepleteduranium.org/en/a/136.html. For further information, and to register for the Conference, please contact Doug Weir at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it." style="color: rgb(142, 95, 189); text-decoration: none; ">office[at]bandepleteduranium.org.
In Florence, Italy, from 3-4 October, several NGOs including the International Network of Engineers and Scientists and the International Peace Bureau are hosting a conference called "Nuclear Proliferation, Historical Appraisal and Present Problems." For the program, please visit http://www.inesglobal.com/Conferences/Florence/Florence_Conference_1.pdf.
