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 19th session of
the preparatory commission of the CTBTO. I am confident that your
outstanding diplomatic skills and broad experience, will steer this
session to a successful conclusion.
At the same time I would like to thank the outgoing Chairman H.E.
Ambassador Abdulkadir Bin Rimdap of Nigeria, and his bureau for the
excellent manner in which he conducted his Chairmanship during the first
half of this year.
I would also like to express our appreciation to our distinguished
Executive Secretary, H.E. Ambassador Wolfgang Hoffmann, for his
comprehensive written and oral reports as well as the Secretariat for its
ongoing efforts to fulfill its mandate.
Mr. Chairman,
The Group is pleased to note that since the last Prep Com, three of
the Member States of the G-77 and China, namely Botswana, Niger and Samoa,
have ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) as well as
Georgia, bringing the total number of ratifications to 97.
Mr. Chairman,
The G-77 and China wishes to express its support for the workshop
which will be held in Jamaica in December 2002 with the aim to promote
International Cooperation and National Implementation of CTBT in the
Caribbean and Central American Region. The Group would like to thank the
PTS for organizing this important seminar, and reiterate its support for
organizing such workshops in other regions and sub-regions.
The Group of 77 and China welcomes the signing of the agreement
between the Prep Com and the Organization for the Prohibition of Nuclear
Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean (OPANAL). Emphasizing the
importance of Nuclear Weapons Free Zones, the Group calls on the PTS to
start the negotiation process in order to reach similar agreements with
other nuclear weapon free zones.
Mr. Chairman,
With reference to the Programme and Budget, the Group would like to
reiterate the views expressed in its previous statements, in particular
that any proposal should be guided by the following main elements: First:
the actual prospect of the Entry Into Force of the Treaty (EIF), Second:
the capabilities of the Member States to pay their assessed contributions,
Third: the capability of the PTS to consolidate the budget, and
adjustments should take into account the views expressed by State
Signatories.
In this regard the Group would like to emphasize the Gentlemen's
Agreement contained in the report of the sixteenth session of the Prep
Com, document CTBT/PC-16/1, approved by all members of the Prep Com, which
clearly reads as follows: "The Provisional Technical Secretariat
should do its utmost to keep the draft 2003 Budget at the level of the
2002 Budget and that the required resources will be evaluated carefully in
order to approach the level of the 2002 Programme and Budget".
Regarding the proposed Programme and Budget for 2003, contained in
CTBT/PTS/INF.511/Rev.1, the Group would like to reiterate its concrete
suggestions made during the last WGA and WGB meetings in order to reduce
the amount to an acceptable level, and urge the PTS to effectively take
them into account.
We believe that there are still some ways to reduce the proposed
amount of US$ 88.9 million to an acceptable amount in the range of US$
86.5 million - for instance in the following areas:
A. Capital Investment Fund (CIF).
B. Post Certification Cost, taking into account the estimation of the
PTS in document CTBT/PTS/INF.536 para 24 and the already approved
guidelines in the WGB (CTBT/WGB-19/1 para 15) and WGA (CTBT/WGA-22/1 para
15). By doing so the reduction of the Post Certification budget for 2003
should be at least US$ 1.5 million.
C. By the redeployment of the staff of the Secretariat, instead of
creating new posts.
D. By reducing the soft and hardware acquisition programmes.
Mr. Chairman,
Furthermore, the Group believes that the Human Resources issues in
the PTS should be treated in an open and transparent approach according to
the existing staff rules and regulations. Therefore, the Group notes that
the agreement on the Commission's non-career policy as outlined in its
staff rules and regulations and the administrative directive on
recruitment, appointment, reappointment and tenure, have been achieved
through a delicate political balance. As already stated in the last WGA
meeting, the Group believes that the non-career policy, especially the
seven-year limit on service with the PTS, should remain unchanged. The
Group also feels strongly that the Executive Secretary should refrain from
interpretations which, in practice, may contradict existing regulations
furnished to preserve the non career nature of the PTS and even render the
exceptions unnecessary.
I thank you Mr. Chairman.
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