Acting High Representative for Disarmament Affairs addresses Conference on Disarmament
Kim Won-soo, Acting High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, this afternoon addressed the Conference on Disarmament. The Conference also heard from the Netherlands as incoming President of the Conference and from 18 States.
Mr. Kim noted the historical accomplishments of the Conference on Disarmament that had made lasting contributions to international peace and security, adding that the world needed a functioning Conference on Disarmament now more than ever. As the world’s sole multilateral disarmament negotiating body, the onus was now securely on the Conference to bridge the divide between States and get them back to the road on the elimination of nuclear weapons. Mr. Kim appealed to the Conference to demonstrate flexibility, to devise innovative solutions and to reveal the trust necessary to move forward. He recalled that in 2012, the General Assembly had tasked a Group of Governmental Experts to make recommendations on possible aspects that could contribute to, but not negotiate, a treaty banning the production of fissile material. The Group had now agreed on a report, which, inter alia, reaffirmed the Shannon mandate as the most suitable basis for negotiations. The General Assembly would take up the report at its next session later this year. Mr. Kim hoped that the Conference would consider the report a useful contribution that could advance the deliberations of the Conference. […]
Statements from China, India, Japan, Australia, New Zealand, Pakistan, the Republic of Korea, and others were heard
[source: United Nations Office in Geneva UNOG]