| Statement by New York, 2 October 2006
1. I have the honor and privilege to speak on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement. 2. Allow me first of all to congratulate you on your assumption as Chairperson of the Committee. I would also like to felicitate the members of the Bureau for their election. We are confident that under your leadership, we will further the work of the Committee in putting forward positive and concrete recommendations to the General Assembly. NAM will extend its full support and cooperation in facilitating your task in presiding over this 61st Session of the First Committee. 3. NAM reiterates its long-standing principled positions on disarmament and international security as contained in the Final Document of the 14th NAM Summit held in Havana, from 11-16 September 2006. In this regard, NAM will circulate the section on disarmament and international security of this document as a working paper of the Committee. Madame Chair, 4. NAM continues to be deeply concerned over the current difficult situation in the field of disarmament and international security. The inability of the World Summit last year to address the issue of disarmament and non-proliferation as well as the failure of the 2005 NPT Review Conference have further worsened our collective efforts of promoting greater world peace and security. We, therefore, need to intensify our endeavours for resolving the current impasse in achieving nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in all its aspects. 5. Similarly, the failure of the 2006 UN Conference to Review Progress Made in the Implementation of the Program of Action to Prevent, Combat and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons in All Its Aspects (SALW), to agree on a final document was an impediment to our efforts in dealing with this issue. The NAM reaffirms the total validity of the Program of Action, and underlines the need to coordinate efforts in the UN with a view to reaching an agreement on the follow-up of the Program of Action, in order to ensure its full implementation. 6. In view of this, it is important that all UN Member States reaffirm their full commitment to the purposes of the UN Charter, and their obligations to strictly observe its principles as well as the other relevant principles of international law. 7. NAM reaffirms the importance of multilateral diplomacy in the field of disarmament and non-proliferation, and expresses its determination to promote multilateralism as the core principle of all our efforts and negotiations in these areas. In this context, it is essential to reconvene at an early date, preferably in 2007, the open-ended working group on the Special Session on Disarmament IV (SSOD-IV) as mandated by the General Assembly. 8. NAM reiterates its principled position on nuclear disarmament, which remains its highest priority, and on the related issue of nuclear non-proliferation in all its aspects. NAM stresses on the necessity that the non-proliferation efforts should be carried out in parallel with the efforts to achieve nuclear disarmament. Madame Chair, 9. NAM believes that the existing disarmament machinery should play a central role in addressing our concerns and formulating our responses. NAM reaffirms the centrality of the First Committee as an essential subsidiary body of the General Assembly in addressing the important issues in the field of disarmament and international security, in particular due to the difficult and complex situation in this field. 10. While underlining the role of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) as the sole multilateral negotiating body on disarmament, we reiterate our call on the CD to agree on a balanced and comprehensive program of work. 11. NAM reaffirms the importance and relevance of the United Nations Disarmament Commission (UNDC) as the sole specialized deliberative body within the UN multilateral disarmament machinery and calls upon UN member states to display the necessary political will and flexibility in order to achieve agreement on recommendations based on its two agenda items during the current cycle. Madame Chair, 12. It is most unfortunate that large stocks of nuclear weapons continue to exist, and some nuclear-weapon-states are keen to develop even more sophisticated and greater arsenals of such weapons. We believe that the most effective way of preventing terrorists from acquiring weapons of mass destruction is through the total elimination of such weapons. 13. NAM emphasizes that progress in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in all its aspects is essential to strengthening peace and security and reaffirms that efforts toward nuclear disarmament, global and regional approaches as well as confidence building measures complement each other and should, wherever possible, be pursued simultaneously to promote regional and international peace and security. 14. NAM stresses the significance of achieving universal adherence to the CTBT, including by all nuclear-weapon-States, which, inter-alia, should contribute to the process of nuclear disarmament. NAM reiterates that if the objectives of the CTBT were to be fully realized, the continued commitment of all States signatories, especially the nuclear-weapon-States, to nuclear disarmament would be essential. 15. NAM believes that the issues of proliferation should be resolved through political and diplomatic means, and the measures in this regard should be taken within the framework of international law, relevant multilateral conventions, and the UN Charter. Madame Chair, 16. NAM reaffirms that the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons and reaffirms further that the non-nuclear-weapon-States should be effectively assured against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. Pending the total elimination of nuclear weapons, NAM continues to call for the conclusion of a universal, unconditional and legally binding instrument on security assurances to non-NWS as a matter of priority. 17. NAM underlines that the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones (NWFZs) created by the relevant NWFZ treaties as well as Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free-status, are positive steps and important measures towards the strengthening of global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation. In this regard, we welcome the signing of the Treaty on a nuclear-weapon-free-zone by the five Central Asian countries in Semipalatinsk on 8 September 2006. NAM urges States to conclude agreements freely arrived at among the States of the region concerned with a view to establishing new NWFZs in regions where they do not exist. 18. NAM considers the establishment
of NWFZs as a positive step towards attaining the objective of global
nuclear disarmament and reiterates its support for the establishment
in the Middle East of a nuclear-weapon-free zone, in accordance with
relevant General Assembly and Security Council resolutions. Pending
the establishment of such a zone, NAM demands Israel to accede to
the NPT without delay and place promptly all its nuclear facilities
under comprehensive IAEA safeguards. 20. NAM stresses the importance of transparency in pursuing disarmament and non proliferation objectives and in carrying out related activities, without any discrimination or selectivity, in accordance with the Charter of the UN and international law. Madame Chair, 21. Unless the international community come together with collective efforts to confront the serious challenges before us, our dream of realizing a future that is stable, prosperous for all, and free of deadly weapons, will remain unfulfilled. We must show greater political will to achieve our common objectives in this 61st Session of the General Assembly. 22. Therefore, during this Session, NAM will present the following resolutions and or decisions: (i) Measures to uphold the authority
of the 1925 Geneva Protocol. 23. In conclusion, NAM reiterates its full support and constructive engagement to all UN members during the deliberations and negotiations at this session. We need to do our utmost with enhanced political will, to ensure the advancement of our collective agenda for a peaceful, prosperous, and secure world. I thank you, Madame Chair.
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