Written answers

Tuesday, 30 March 2004

Department of Foreign Affairs

Conference on Disarmament

9:00 pm

Photo of John GormleyJohn Gormley (Dublin South East, Green Party)
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Question 242: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs the issues raised in his speech to the conference on disarmament in Geneva; and if he will make a statement on the matter. [10113/04]

Photo of Brian CowenBrian Cowen (Laois-Offaly, Fianna Fail)
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I had the privilege of addressing the conference on disarmament, CD, in Geneva on 16 March 2004. During my speech I stressed strong support for the role of the United Nations in conflict prevention and in peacekeeping and our belief that the CD can have an important role to play in UN efforts to maintain peace and security. I emphasised the importance that Ireland attaches to multilateral co-operation in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation and our faith in the multilateral regime of treaties and agreements in this area. I reiterated our commitment to implementing and strengthening these instruments and to pursuing the universalisation of their norms.

During my address, I also spoke about some specific problems caused by conventional weapons and urged that a greater priority be given to making progress in addressing the misuse of small arms and light weapons. On the issue of landmines, I recalled that this year marked the fifth anniversary of the Ottawa Convention on Landmines and looked forward to the Nairobi review conference later this year which will provide an opportunity to take stock and to consider how to achieve universal respect for the principles and application of this treaty. I also referred to the question of discarded explosive remnants of war and welcomed the successful outcome of negotiations on an additional protocol to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, CCW.

I noted that while conventional weapons may have killed more people, it is the proliferation and possible use of weapons of mass destruction, WMD, that causes greatest fear. I emphasised the importance in this connection of strengthening the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, NPT, referring to the severe strains to which the treaty has been subject in recent years. I expressed my conviction that disarmament and non-proliferation are mutually reinforcing and stressed that preserving the integrity of the NPT means respecting all its provisions and the commitments freely entered into at its review conferences, including that in 2000 which provided a realistic blueprint for achieving nuclear disarmament. I also underlined the need to abide by commitments on non-proliferation and urged those countries which have not yet done so, to sign and ratify the IAEA Additional Protocol as a demonstration of their commitment to the NPT.

I noted that the recognition of the dangers posed by WMD had led the EU to recently adopt a strategy against the proliferation of such weapons. This strategy mainstreams non-proliferation into the Union's overall policies and confirms both our support for the multilateral institutions charged with verifying compliance with the relevant treaties, and our commitment to strong national and internationally-coordinated export controls. I mentioned the importance of an effective compliance and verification instrument for the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, BTWC, and that we are working with partners to secure the universalisation of both the BTWC and the Chemical Weapons Convention, CWC. I addressed the impasse at the CD and the lack of political consensus on the next steps to be taken in the multilateral arena on arms control. I referred to those issues of importance to Ireland, including support for the establishment of a subsidiary body to deal specifically with the issue of nuclear disarmament, and suggested a way in which the conference might move forward to build understanding and greater trust. I asked the conference to reflect on the current relevance of its methods of work and supported both the inclusion of civil society in its deliberations and the expansion of the CD's membership.

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