Statement on Revitalization of the CD by Mr. Amandeep S. Gill, Minister, Permanent Mission of India, in the CD Plenary Statement on Revitalization of the CD by Mr. Amandeep S. Gill, Minister, Permanent Mission of India, in the CD Plenary
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Statement on Revitalization of the CD by Mr. Amandeep S. Gill, Minister, Permanent Mission of India, in the CD Plenary

Statement by Mr. Amandeep S. Gill, Minister, Permanent Mission of India to the CD Plenary – June 14, 2012

Mr. President,

Thank you. Let me begin by noting that the subject of our meeting today is not part of the CD's traditional agenda but the subject has been discussed over the past two years both here in the Conference and in the General Assembly. India has participated and shared its perspectives in those meetings. For instance, our External Affairs Minister attended the High Level meeting on "Revitalising the work of the Conference on Disarmament and taking forward multilateral disarmament negotiations" convened by UN Secretary General in September 2010. We have also listened carefully to what others who attach importance to the subject have said or proposed today. We will reflect carefully on what we have heard today.

Mr. President,

India has always upheld the CD's unique importance as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum, recognized as such by the international community at SSOD-I. In keeping with the importance we attach to the CD, we welcome efforts that bring us closer to negotiations on disarmament and international security issues and uphold the value of this forum. Conversely, we believe that efforts that take us further away from consensus or which question the CD's role should be avoided.

We share the disappointment among the Member States on the continuing impasse in the CD. Despite the efforts of successive CD Presidents and members in the last two years, the Conference has been unable to agree on a Programme of Work and undertake its primary task of negotiating multilateral treaties. However, we believe that the CD or its Rules of Procedure are not to be blamed for this impasse. On the contrary, the CD's Rules of Procedure provide the necessary assurance to Member States that their security interests are fully protected while they engage substantively with others in the CD on issues that have a bearing on vital national security interests.

Mr. President,

It may be recalled that the final document of the first Special Session on Disarmament accorded nuclear disarmament the highest priority. India has been steadfast in its support for global, non-discriminatory, verifiable nuclear disarmament. It is a painful reality that more than three decades after SSOD-I the objective of a nuclear weapons free world remains a distant goal, not least due to the inability of the CD to agree to negotiations on nuclear disarmament. The attainment of the goal of a nuclear weapon free world will require commitments embedded in an agreed multilateral framework involving all States possessing nuclear weapons which are represented incidentally in the CD.

The last Programme of Work adopted by the CD by its consensus decision CD/1864 of May 2009 included immediate commencement of negotiations on a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. The subsequent meetings have also demonstrated a broad measure of support for CD/1864. We support the immediate commencement of FMCT negotiations in the CD as part of a Programme of Work that does not reopen the longstanding consensus in the international community on the basic goal and mandate of FMCT. This is without diminishing the priority we attach to nuclear disarmament.

Mr. President,

The CD continues to have the mandate, the membership, the credibility and the Rules of Procedure to discharge its responsibilities as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum now and into the future. It is up to the Member States to make it work by negotiating multilateral treaties which can be signed, ratified and implemented universally. As the distinguished representative of Mexico said in her comments the disarmament machinery does not exist independently of our consciousness and will; we cannot take a disembodied view of the machinery. We do not believe that proposals which question the viability or relevance of the CD or even suggest unrealistic alternatives will lead to useful or productive results in taking forward the agreed multilateral agenda with the participation of all relevant countries.

In conclusion, we hope that our deliberations and actions today and later this year will reaffirm the role of the CD as the single disarmament negotiating forum and seek to give impetus to our efforts for resumption of substantive work, including negotiations in the CD.

Thank you.