Introduction of Draft Resolution
A/C.1/55/L.4
Towards a Nuclear Weapon Free World: the Need for a New Agenda
Mr Chairman,
I wish to introduce the draft resolution
contained in Document A/C.1/55/L4: Towards a Nuclear Weapon Free World: the Need for a New
Agenda on behalf of the co-sponsors of the resolution.
The co-sponsors of this draft resolution
have engaged this Committee over the past three sessions with a view to give a new impetus
to nuclear disarmament and to secure agreement on an agenda which would become a benchmark
for future action in achieving a nuclear-weapon-free world.
The pursuit of nuclear disarmament had
clearly lost impetus in the sequel to the end of the Cold War. The obligation to pursue in
good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all
its aspects under strict and effective international control as required in the 1996
Advisory Opinion of the International Court of Justice was clearly not being lived up to.
Nuclear weapons were being re-rationalized for the post Cold War period and the prospect
of the indefinite retention of these weapons was becoming entrenched.
We were all foresworn to nuclear
disarmament. We could therefore no longer hide behind the shibboleths of the Cold War. The
acceleration of the process leading to the achievement of nuclear disarmament was overdue.
The co-sponsors of the New Agenda have
challenged complacency in the fulfilment of the obligation to advance the pursuit of
nuclear disarmament. They have insisted that each requisite step in this process be
addressed within the perspectives of an unequivocal commitment to the total elimination of
nuclear weapons.
The Sixth Review Conference of the States
Parties to the NPT provided the forum for the elaboration of a set of agreements on the
elements and structure for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament. Most importantly, the Final
Document fundamentally alters the context in which nuclear disarmament must henceforth be
pursued. That context is the unequivocal commitment by the nuclear weapon states to
accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear arsenals leading to nuclear disarmament.
The Final Document adopted by consensus
among the States Parties to the NPT represents a new beginning in the pursuit of nuclear
disarmament. It defines the steps to be taken; it provides for the further development of
each of the steps agreed and it anchors the NPT in a more fundamental way as the
cornerstone of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.
The Final Document is neither as
far-reaching nor as detailed as the States parties were entitled to expect. The compromise
it represents reinforces the determination of the co-sponsors of this text that the steps
agreed at the Review Conference shall indeed be implemented without prevarication or
delay.
Mr. Chairman,
In the draft resolution proposed to the
Committee this year, the co-sponsors reflect the results of the engagement both between
non-nuclear weapon States, and between them and the five nuclear weapon States over the
past three years. The co-sponsors are fully conscious that in a number of instances the
common ground on a future approach is more generalized than we would have wished. But we
believe that real progress has been achieved in setting down benchmarks. These will enable
us in future to evaluate the implementation of each of the agreed undertakings. They also
provide an agreed basis on which each element can be further developed and defined.
For the co-sponsors, it is imperative
that what was agreed between the States parties to the NPT be brought before the General
Assembly of the United Nations with a view to its being adopted by the United Nations as a
whole. The achievement of nuclear disarmament requires participation by all the Member
States of the United Nations.
Previous resolutions have set out the
concerns of the international community at the prospect of the indefinite possession of
nuclear weapons. They have recalled that the vast majority of States entered into legally
binding commitments not to acquire nuclear weapons in the context of the corresponding
legally binding commitments by the nuclear weapon States to the pursuit of nuclear
disarmament. They have emphasized that the possession of nuclear weapons must not be
considered legitimate for the indefinite future. They therefore called upon the nuclear
weapon States to make an unequivocal undertaking to accomplish the speedy and total
elimination of their nuclear arsenals and to engage without delay in an accelerated
process of negotiations, thus achieving nuclear disarmament, to which they are committed
under article VI of the NPT.
The draft resolution before the Committee
underlines the fundamental significance of the unequivocal commitment which the nuclear
weapon States have now made to accomplish the total elimination of their nuclear weapons.
It also sets out the agreed elements for the process of negotiations that will be required
to achieve this goal. And it calls for the urgent implementation of each of the agreed
steps. It expresses deep concern at the continued risk represented by the possibility that
nuclear weapons could be used.
The draft resolution also acknowledges
the steps that have been taken by the nuclear weapon States, but it underlines that
despite reductions, the total number of nuclear weapons deployed and in stockpile still
amount to many thousands. It must also signal the international community’s concern
that nuclear arms reductions are currently stalled.
The draft resolution sets out the
measures which the nuclear weapon States must undertake, as well as those instruments
which the non-nuclear weapon States working with the nuclear weapon States must
accomplish. It calls for the development and implementation of interim measures so as to
lessen the role of nuclear weapons in security policies of concerned States and to further
reduce the operational status of nuclear weapons systems. It reinforces the paradigm of
irreversibility as we progress towards nuclear disarmament. It urges greater transparency
to support further progress on nuclear disarmament.
The parties to the NPT at the Sixth
Review Conference urged the early entry into force of the CTBT. They agreed on the
necessity of negotiations on a fissile material treaty, and they agreed on the necessity
of establishing in the Conference on Disarmament an appropriate subsidiary body with a
mandate to deal with nuclear disarmament. These agreements underline the continuing
validity of a multilateral role in the field of nuclear disarmament, which is central to
the approach of the co-sponsors of this draft resolution.
Mr Chairman,
The non-adherence to the NPT of three
member States of the United Nations, which operate unsafeguarded nuclear facilities, is a
matter of ongoing concern to the international community. This draft resolution calls for
universal adherence to the Treaty and for those three States to bring into force the
required comprehensive safeguards agreements, and to reverse clearly and urgently any
policies to pursue any nuclear-weapon development or deployment.
Mr Chairman,
Every process, particularly one as
complex as nuclear disarmament, requires constant monitoring and adaptation. This draft
resolution sets out a comprehensive programme of action. Some steps have to be taken by
the nuclear weapon States, some by the nuclear weapon States and their allies, and some by
all States. There is an imperative built into this approach that requires results in each
of the segments of action. The co-sponsors are determined to monitor the achievement of
these results in the light of the unequivocal commitment recently made. The co-sponsors
are also intent on elaborating on each of the elements that make up this programme of
action so that genuine progress towards the goal of nuclear disarmament can be registered
in future years.
The draft resolution recalls the resolve
of our heads of State and Government in the Millennium Summit to keep all options open for
achieving the elimination of nuclear weapons, including the possibility of convening an
international conference to identify ways of eliminating nuclear dangers.
In the year 2000, we have in our
possession the beginnings of what must become a sustained offensive on the scourge to
humanity represented by the existence of nuclear weapons. It is the expectation of the
co-sponsors of this draft resolution that this Committee in adopting this resolution will
reflect the will of our constituency, the peoples of the world, that we can achieve a
global ban on the development, production, transfer and use of nuclear weapons within this
generation.
Thank you, Mr Chairman
Permanent
Mission of Sweden to the United Nations