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Statement by Ambassador Sujata Mehta, Permanent Representative of India to the Conference on Disarmament CD Plenary – 15 May, 2012

Since this is the first time I take the floor under your Presidency, allow me to say how pleased we are to see you preside over our work. I assure you of the full cooperation and support of my delegation in the discharge of your duties. Let me also thank the preceding presidents - Ambassador Badr of Egypt and Ambassador Gallegos of Ecuador - for their diligent work on behalf of the members of the Conference.

Mr. President, India attaches importance to the Conference on Disarmament as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum. We share the disappointment that the CD has so far been unable to undertake its primary task of negotiating multilateral treaties. For India's part, we will not stand in the way if consensus emerges on a Programme of Work picking up from where we were in terms of the consensus decision CD/1864, if such a decision facilitates the early commencement of substantive work of the Conference, including negotiation of an FMCT. While efforts towards an agreed programme of work that can be implemented should continue, we do not believe it is helpful to reopen the long-standing consensus in the international community on the basic goal and mandate of the FMCT, which has been reaffirmed by consensus on several occasions.

India attaches the highest priority to nuclear disarmament. India remains committed to the objective of the Rajiv Gandhi Action Plan of 1988 and the realization of its vision of a nuclear weapon free world and non-violent world order. This Action Plan includes a roadmap for achieving nuclear disarmament in a time-bound, universal, non-discriminatory, phased and verifiable manner. India supports efforts for raising public awareness for generating the necessary momentum for the cherished goal of a world without nuclear weapons.

We welcome the entry into force and ongoing implementation of the new Russia-U.S. agreement to reduce their nuclear arsenals. States with substantial nuclear arsenals should take meaningful steps towards nuclear disarmament. The goal of nuclear disarmament can be achieved by a step-by-step process underwritten by a universal commitment and an agreed multilateral framework that is global and non-discriminatory. Measures to reduce nuclear dangers arising from accidental or unauthorized use of nuclear weapons, increasing restraints on the use of nuclear weapons and de-alerting of nuclear weapons are essential steps. There is need for a meaningful dialogue among all states possessing nuclear weapons to build trust and confidence and for reducing the salience of nuclear weapons in international affairs and security doctrines. India's Working Paper on Nuclear Disarmament CD/1816 of February 2007 contains specific proposals to that end for consideration of the international community. I would like to draw the attention of the CD to India's resolutions- A/Res/66/57 on "Convention on the Prohibition of Use of Nuclear Weapons" and A/Res/66/48 on "Reducing Nuclear Danger" adopted with substantial support by the UN General Assembly.

Mr. President, India is committed to working with the international community to prevent the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. We subscribe to a policy of credible minimum nuclear deterrent. We do not subscribe to any arms race, including a nuclear arms race. India has espoused a policy of no first-use and non-use against non-nuclear weapon states and is prepared to convert these undertakings into multilateral legal arrangements. India has also supported universalization of the policy of no-first use in a Global No-first use Treaty. While we believe that the best assurance against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapon is their complete elimination, we support negotiations with a view to reaching agreement on effective arrangements to assure non-nuclear weapon States against the use and threat of use of nuclear weapons.

India has had a consistent position on the FMCT. We were one of the original co-sponsors of the UNGA Resolution 48/75L adopted in 1993 on FMCT as it envisaged the treaty as a significant contribution to nuclear non-proliferation in all its aspects. Without prejudice to the priority we attach to nuclear disarmament, India is committed to negotiate a non-discriminatory, multilateral and internationally and effectively verifiable treaty to ban the future production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices. The future treaty would have to meet India's national security interests. India is a nuclear weapon state and a responsible member of the world community, and would approach the negotiations as such. In accordance with the mandate contained in CD/1299, we believe that the CD is the appropriate forum for negotiating the FMCT as it brings together all the essential stakeholders.

Mr. President, the importance of addressing the issue of Prevention of an Arms Race in Outer Space (PAROS) in the CD has been underscored by ongoing developments which may impact on space security. India is against the weaponization of outer space. We believe that it is essential to preserve and promote the benefits flowing from advances in space technology by ensuring access to and use of space. This would require a step-by-step approach wherein legal measures are complemented with TCBMs that are non-discriminatory and evolved through an inclusive process with the participation of all space faring nations.

Mr. President, as we begin the second part of this year's CD session, my delegation reaffirms the priority we should attach to the CD commencing substantive work. We support your efforts to keep the CD focused on its substantive work. It is our conviction that the CD continues to have the mandate, the membership and the rules of procedure to discharge its responsibility. It is up to us, member states, to make it work by negotiating multilateral treaties on disarmament and international security which can be signed, ratified and implemented universally. The CD's rules of procedure provide the necessary assurances to member states that their security interests are fully protected. We hope that our efforts will reaffirm the critical role of the CD as the single multilateral disarmament negotiating forum and build a positive momentum for resumption of substantive work, including negotiations.

Before I conclude, I would like to inform the Conference of the sad news of the demise of Ambassador Aravind Vellodi of India earlier this year. He was a distinguished disarmament diplomat and international civil servant, who served as Secretary of the First Committee in New York and as UNSG's acting Special Representative to the Eighteen Nation Disarmament Committee. He had the rare distinction of presiding over two successive sessions of the UNDC including immediately after the First Special Session of the UN General Assembly on Disarmament in 1978. He will be remembered for his contribution to the Final Document of the first Special Session on Disarmament, which remains the only consensus disarmament document adopted with universal support. His passing leaves a void that is hard to fill.