Vienna Chapter
Mr. Chairman,
On behalf of the Signatory States of the Group of 77 and China, I
would like to congratulate you on your Chairmanship of the 17th session of
the preparatory commission of the CTBTO.
I would also like to express our appreciation to the Executive
Secretary for his comprehensive written and oral reports and commend the
Secretariat for its ongoing efforts to fulfill its mandate, ensuring the
effectiveness and efficiency of the Preparatory Commission. Also the Group
of 77 and China welcomes with satisfaction the 5th anniversary of the PTS
and congratulates it on the intense work carried out so far. We remain
confident that the PTS will keep its high level of professionalism and
dedication in the years ahead.
I would also like to seize this opportunity to thank Mr. Sato, the
Director of the Legal and External Relations Division for his presentation
on the external and international cooperation activities of the PTS during
the year 2001 and wish him all the success in his future endeavours. These
activities contribute indeed to increase the awareness of the official and
public opinion in the signatory states of the various aspects related to
the treaty and its objectives.
Mr. Chairman,
The Group notes with concern the negative impact of recent
developments in the international arena, which would jeopardize the Treaty
and its main objective which is, I quote the preamble: "to contribute
effectively to the prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons in
all its aspects, to the process of nuclear disarmament and therefore to
the enhancement of international peace and security".
The current situation in the Middle East in particular the
reoccupation of Palestinian territories, the recent actions of terror
perpetrated against civilians and innocent people, and the damage to the
prospects of peace in the region may have a negative effect on the
prospects of entry into force of the Treaty, by virtue of their effect on
international peace and security. In this sense the Group of 77 and China
calls upon all parties to implement Security Council Resolutions
1397/2002, 1402/2002 and 1403/2002.
We also express our concern over further negative implications on
CTBT as a result of the tendency to resume nuclear testing as highlighted
recently by one State. Such a tendency would severely affect international
efforts in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation to the detriment of
CTBT and other relevant non-proliferation regime. In this context, and in
observance of especially Paragraph 2, Article 1, we call upon all State
Signatories for the strict and complete compliance with treaty
obligations, especially the cessation of nuclear weapon test explosions
and all other nuclear explosions, by constraining the development and
qualitative improvement of nuclear weapons and ending the development of
any new types of nuclear weapons. We also call upon all States to maintain
a moratorium on nuclear-weapon test explosions or any other nuclear
explosions, pending the entry into force of the CTBT.
Mr. Chairman,
Considering the current prospect of the entry into force of the
treaty and the increasing number of the IMS facilities, the Group is of
the view that the question of the mode of technical testing and the
provisional operation of IMS facilities in the period before the entry
into force of the Treaty, is crucial. In this connection, the Group
welcomes future discussions on the guidelines for this issue in accordance
with the relevant terms of the treaty in the context of WGB. The Group
believes that the legal and financial concern of States Signatories should
be duly taken into account during the negotiation of these guidelines. The
Group maintains the view that relevant future budgets be planned in
accordance with the result of this discussion.
The Group of 77 and China attaches high importance to Nuclear Weapons
Free Zones Agreements as useful instruments for the non-proliferation and
disarmament. Therefore it welcomes and supports the initiative of the
Provisional Technical Secretariat in order to conclude a Cooperation
Agreement between the Agency for the Prohibition of Nuclear weapons in
Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL) and the Preparatory Commission.
Finally, as stated already during last year's April Prep Com, the
Group is of the opinion that the PTS should cooperate with the Member
States in order to identify possible solutions to impediments preventing
them from making their payments, as recommended by the 10th session of the
Prep-Com in November 1999, including constitutional impediments.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
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