Vienna Chapter
Mr. Chairman,
The Group would like to take this opportunity to express its deep
sense of grief on the sad demise of HE Mr Yasser Arafat, the President of
the State of Palestine and Chairman of the Executive Committee of the PLO,
and wishes to convey its sympathy to the bereaved family and the
Palestinian people.
Mr. Chairman,
1. It is my pleasure, on behalf of the States Signatories of the G-77
and China, to convey to you the Group's best wishes as you assume the
Chairmanship of the 23rd Session of the Preparatory Commission. We have
the utmost confidence that under your leadership the present session shall
be able to achieve its most fruitful results, and the Group wishes to
assure you of our support and cooperation.
2. The Group also wishes to express deep appreciation to the
Secretariat for its work and preparations for making this session a
success and thanks the PTS Executive Secretary, Ambassador Wolfgang
Hoffmann, for his supplementary oral report. As it were, we now have a
total of 173 States that have signed the Treaty, out of which a total of
119 States have ratified, including 33 of the 44 Annex 2 States. The Group
welcomes the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Libya, Liechtenstein,
Tunisia and Tanzania for recently ratifying the Treaty. These new
ratifications underscore the importance given by developing countries to
the non-proliferation regime.
3. Allow me now to address the various agenda items. Recognizing that
there are many important issues deserving our attention, the Group of 77
and China would like to comment on some of these items as they are put
forward in our draft agenda.
4. On Item 2 - document CTBT/PC-23/INF.1 - Report of the Executive
Secretary, the Group favourably notes the substantial progress made in the
7 Major Programmes of the CTBT. On the International Monitoring System
(IMS), the PTS achieved considerable work in having certified 96 IMS
facilities out of a total of 337 monitoring facilities worldwide. However,
a closer look at these statistics would suggest that we do need to
continue the certification process for the other IMS facilities towards
ensuring the full operationalization of the CTBT verification regime at
entry into force (EIF) of the Treaty.
5. The G-77 and China attaches great importance to the objectives of
International Cooperation activities as stipulated in paragraph 12 of
Article IV of the Treaty, including facilitation of the fullest possible
exchange of technologies relating to the verification system, legal
assistance, capacity building and application of those technologies for
peaceful purposes. The Group believes that workshops and training courses
are important not only in enhancing national skills to implement the
Treaty but also for promoting awareness about it. Therefore, the Group
encourages the PTS to provide for the wider participation of developing
countries in such activities. The Group also considers the need for the
PTS to play a more active role in promoting the NDCs of developing
countries, especially in providing hardware and software.
6. As for the rest of the Report of the Executive Secretary, the
Group congratulates the PTS for its efforts with respect to the other
Major Programmes relating to the International Data Centre (IDC), on
Communications, On-Site Inspection (OSI), Evaluation, and Administration,
Coordination and Support.
Mr. Chairman,
7. On Item 4 concerning the Report of Working Group B as dealt with
in document CTBT/WGB-23/1, the Group wishes to endorse the draft work
programme of WGB for 2005 as contained in paragraph 70 thereof. The Group
believes that the draft work programme basically follows the thematic
objectives of the CTBTO.
8. The Group, however, expresses its concern affecting several
technical issues facing WGB. For instance, as the PTS reviews the results
of the preparatory phase of the first system-wide performance test (SPT1),
it is hoped that the resulting data analysis be formulated in such a
manner to be understandable by all CTBTO signatory States.
9. While the only purpose of the proposed system-wide performance
test (SPT1) is to evaluate the whole system and that there are no
verification related activities for the system before the Treaty's EIF, we
are of the view that the test should be done within a limited time frame,
and that the cost of the exercise should be absorbed within existing
resources, as far as practicable.
10. The Group also feels that workshops on the civil and scientific
uses of IMS data, using seismic, hydroacoustic, infrasound and
radionuclide technologies, and IDC products can lead to important civil
and scientific applications and further contribute to the promotion of the
Treaty.
11. On IDC computer technology, while the Group endorses the move for
the PTS to gradually carry out the transition to 'open source' computer
operating systems, it is hoped that the resulting computer infrastructure
should result in greater flexibility and more cost effective data
management.
12. In accordance with the provisions of the Treaty, and with the
text on the establishment of the PrepCom and due to the development in the
work of the PTS, we welcome the work on developing a confidentiality
policy for the PTS. The confidentiality policy should create a strict and
transparent regime for handling all data and information available to the
PTS. We believe that a comprehensive approach is necessary for the
confidentiality policy of the PTS. We believe that more time in WGB
discussions should be allocated to this important task.
13. We urge all States Signatories to actively participate in
financing the OSI Major Programme in order to continue necessary
preparations for the establishment of the OSI regime at EIF of the Treaty.
This should include testing and evaluation of all OSI equipment,
establishing supporting infrastructure and preparing a comprehensive
programme for the training of inspectors and assistants. The Group looks
forward to the continuation of work on the OSI Operational Manual based on
experience gained from workshops, tabletop exercises and field
experiments.
Mr. Chairman,
14. On Item 7 concerning the draft 2005 Programme and Budget
proposal, the Group wishes to reiterate budget principles that have been
mentioned in its previous statements and in various WGA and WGB meetings.
While the G-77 and China appreciate the efforts of the PTS in trying to
keep the 2005 Budget and PTS staffing profile at 2004 levels,
organizational efficiency can still be improved by prioritizing and
reallocating resources in a manner that reflects the evolving activities
of the PTS. We are of the opinion that by prioritizing and reallocating
the resources the PTS can easily accommodate changes without programmatic
increases even as a majority of the stations have been site surveyed,
installed and are being certified.
15. We request that the 2006 Budget be prepared bearing in mind
national budgetary constraints and be maintained at the 2004 Budget level.
Mr. Chairman,
16. The Group would like to stress that the recommendations for
enhancing security measures should be discussed by the Secretariat with
States Signatories for a cost efficient and practical approach based upon
local security needs.
Mr. Chairman,
17. On Item 13 regarding the Progress Report on the Review of the PTS
Organizational Structure as dealt with in document CTBT/PC-23/INF.2, the
Group takes note of the progress report submitted by the External Review
Team. We wish to endorse the Team continue with its work, and the Group
looks forward for the early submission of the Team's final report.
18. From the viewpoint of the Group, the tasks of the PTS are based
on two main pillars: political and technical issues. However, the balance
between political and technical tasks of the PTS should be maintained in
the restructuring process considering the enhancement of coordination and
cost efficiency. We reiterate that the recommendations of the Review Team
be implemented only after thorough review by the States Signatories via
consultation within the Working Groups and the PrepCom.
19. The Group believes that human resources are indeed critical
components of the PTS and of the CTBT Organization. However, the Group
notes that the PTS present staffing profile may need further geographical
realignment as 45% of the PTS staff has come from North American and
Western European States. It is the hope of the Group that, in future PTS
staff requirements, this relative imbalance in the staff profile can be
rectified via a continuing need to improve PTS recruitment policies, more
transparency and more clarified accountabilities. While there could be
some shifts in emphasis towards the range of operations in the PTS, the
Group hopes that this disparity in the PTS staff profile can still be
minimized further.
20. Equitable geographical representation and high standards of
expertise, competence, integrity and experience shall be the main criteria
for the appointment of PTS staff. The Group reaffirms the criteria for
recruitment of the staff that have been clearly stipulated in paragraph 50
of Article II of the Treaty, and firmly believes that any introduction of
other new criteria such as linking recruitment with monetary contribution
is beyond the text of the Treaty. The Group follows the issue of equitable
geographical representation in the PTS and looks forward to future
improvements on this matter.
21. The Group expects that in the future the chairmanships of the
Subsidiary Organs of the PrepCom should also reflect the principle of
equitable geographical representation.
22. The Group believes that the human resources issues in the PTS
should continue to be treated in an open and transparent approach
according to existing staff rules and regulations. Therefore, the Group
strongly supports the Commission's non-career policy, especially the
seven-year limit service in the PTS, as outlined in its staff rules and
regulations, and the administrative directive on recruitment, appointment,
reappointment and tenure. Although it is the prerogative of the Executive
Secretary to make some exceptions to the service limit in accordance with
Administrative Directive No. 20 (Rev.2), in order to retain essential
expertise or institutional memory in the PTS, these shall be extraordinary
exceptions reported to the Preparatory Commission in accordance with
Administrative Directive No. 20 (Rev.2) and WGA reports.
23. We take note of the fact that the basis for the judgement of the
International Labour Organization Administrative Tribunal (ILOAT) to rule
out the decision of the Executive Secretary does not affect the non-career
policy and seven-year limit for staff contracts. We request that the PTS
take due care and ensure that current and future contracts duly meet the
ruling's requirements.
Mr. Chairman,
24. With regard to the restructuring of the PTS, the Group believes
that all the elements of the verification regime of the Treaty including
the IMS, IDC, GCI and OSI are important in establishing a balanced
approach to the Treaty.
25. We also encourage the External Review Team to continue exploring
ways and means to enhance participation of the experts of developing
countries in WGB discussions.
Mr. Chairman,
26. On Item 16 regarding the Appointment of the Executive Secretary
as contained in CTBT/PC-22/1/Annex VII, the Group deeply appreciates your
efforts and the informal consultations held under your chairmanship for
reaching consensus on the modalities of tenure for the appointment of a
future Executive Secretary. We support the criterion that the next
Executive Secretary must come from a ratifying State. The Group reiterates
that there must be no linkage between the fulfilment of financial
obligations of a signatory State and the selection of the future Executive
Secretary, because it is unprecedented, bereft of any legal bases and no
reference in this respect was made in the Treaty or in the Rules of
Procedure. Moreover, the Group sees any attempt at establishing a linkage
will deprive small and medium States Signatories of their inherent right
to propose candidates for the post of Executive Secretary.
27. The Group of 77 and China nonetheless wishes to emphasize the
importance it attaches to the financial stability of the Commission, which
is a matter of budgetary concern rather than an issue concerning the
selection of candidates for the post of Executive Secretary or any other
post in the PTS. The Group would like to take this opportunity to urge all
States Signatories that have not yet done so to pay their financial
contributions in full and on time.
28. In the selection of the new Executive Secretary, paramount
importance should be attached to the principle of fair geographical
representation. The Group firmly believes that the new Executive Secretary
should be a candidate from a developing country with the highest quality
of competence and integrity and demonstrated diplomatic and managerial
skills and experience to assist in the work of the Commission.
Mr. Chairman,
29. The Group of 77 and China supports the convening of the Article
XIV Conference in 2005. In doing so, we are driven by the desire to
promote the EIF of the Treaty, which constitutes a specific stage in
nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament and is also one of the key
objectives of the Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),
and therefore of strengthening the multilateral regime in this field.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
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