Vienna Chapter
Mr. Chairman,
On behalf of State Signatories of the Group of 77 and China, I am
pleased to see you chairing the 24th session of Working Group A. I believe
that under your able chairmanship and guidance, discussions will lead to
fruitful conclusions and I assure you of our full support and cooperation.
The Group wishes to thank the Executive Secretary, Ambassador
Wolfgang Hoffmann, for his comprehensive written and oral reports and we
would like to express our appreciation for the diligent efforts of the PTS
in implementing the mandates of the Preparatory Commission for the
establishment of the verification system at the Entry Into Force of the
Treaty.
The Group would like to express its views on the following issues,
which will be considered during the present meeting of Working Group A.
Mr. Chairman,
We appreciate the activities undertaken by the PTS during 2002 in
implementation of Major Programmes 6 (Policy Making Organs) and 7
(Administration, Coordination and Support). We would like to ask the PTS
to continue assisting in promoting cooperation among States Signatories to
facilitate exchanges of technologies used in the verification of the
Treaty. The Group believes that training courses of the PTS are elements
of utmost importance for the dissemination of information about different
technologies and for the universalization of the Treaty and should be
further coordinated, well funded and widely represented.
Mr. Chairman,
In consideration of guidance to the PTS for preparing the programme
and budget elements for 2004, the Group would like to reiterate the views
expressed in its previous statements, in particular that any proposal for
the verification related work programme and budget elements for 2004 and
thereafter, should be guided by the following main principles, 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. In this regard
the Group would like to emphasize the Gentlemen's Agreement contained in
the report of the nineteenth session of the Prep Com, document
CTBT/PC-19/1 para 33, approved by all members of the Prep Com.
Accordingly, the Group urges the PTS to continue adjusting the pace of its
work to the above mentioned Gentlemen's Agreement and requests it to
prioritize and reallocate its resources among Major Programmes, under the
principle of no overall programmatic increases. We welcome and support the
efforts of the PTS in the implementation of a realistic approach towards
the program and budget for 2004 by trying to keep the 2004 budget at the
same level of 2003, with no programmatic increases over the 2003 funding
level, or in PTS staffing levels. The Group notes with appreciation that
the PTS is going to absorb any programme adjustments within the existing
resources.
We also take note that the proposed Budget for 2004 in document
(CTBT/PTS/INF.586/Rev1) amounts to US$96 817 600, compared with $88 581
700 in 2003. We believe that the total amount of $ 96,817,600 for the 2004
budget is beyond the capability of Member States to pay their
contributions.
While acknowledging the efforts of the PTS to make further economies
and cost efficiencies by reprioritizing its activities and reallocating
other resources (for example, closure of the New York office, expanded use
of information technology and the integration of administrative systems,
and streamlining its internal administration), in this regard we are of
the opinion that further savings could be made in the following areas:
since the PTS is at the stage of organizational transition, we believe
that the funding for the Capital Investment Fund (CIF) should decrease
substantially. For provisional operation and maintenance costs, we are of
the view that Post Certification Costs should be reduced to the lowest
level possible 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). The Group also
believes that the budget for acquisition of hardware, the use of
consultants and the travel costs should decrease.
Mr. Chairman,
The Group believes that the Human Resources issues in the PTS should
continue to be treated in an open and transparent approach according to
the existing staff rules and regulations. Therefore, the Group strongly
support the Commission's non-career policy, especially the seven-year
limit on service with the PTS, as outlined in its staff rules and
regulations and the administrative directive on recruitment, appointment,
reappointment and tenure. Equitable geographical representation and full
consultation with different regional groups and countries, as well as high
level standards of expertise, competence, integrity and experience shall
be the main criteria for appointment of the staff in the PTS.
On the issue of the seven year service limit, we take not that the
Executive Secretary has started to implement this limit starting from
March 1997, guided by the views of States Signatories as contained in the
report of the Twenty-Third Session of Working Group A (CTBT/PC-20/1/Annex
I), and accordingly, some staff members have been officially informed that
their appointments will not be extended beyond the seven year service
limit. An appeal against the decision of non-extension with the
Administrative Tribunal of the International Labour Organization (ILOAT)
has been launched. We believe that the process of examining of this
decision by ILOAT should be accelerated by the PTS and should be done in a
very short period of time. Although it's the prerogative of The Executive
Secretary to make some exceptions to the service limit in accordance with
the of Administrative Directive No. 20 (Rev.2), in order to retain
essential expertise or memory in the PTS, but these exception shall be
done in absolute minimum cases in accordance with the Administrative
Directive No. 20 (Rev.2), and WGA reports. These exceptions shall be
reported to the Twenty-First Session of the Commission in November 2003.
Mr. Chairman,
At its Nineteenth Session, the Preparatory Commission adopted the
schedule of meetings for 2003 on the basis of a reduction to two of the
annual number of sessions of the Preparatory Commission and its subsidiary
bodies (CTBT/PC-19/1/Annex V). We welcome this decision and support the
tentative schedule of meetings of the Policy Making Organs in 2004 based
on the pattern of meetings in 2003 which has been prepared by the PTS and
reflected in document CTBT/PTS/INF.623.
Mr. Chairman,
The Group takes note of the proposal of the PTS in document
(CTBT/PTS/INF.620) on the issue of Costs of Capital Replacement of
Certified IMS stations on a longer term basis. The Group will carefully
consider this proposal in the light of its financial implications.
We would like to reaffirm our commitment at the Ninth Session of the Commission in which we called upon all States Signatories "to accord to the activities of the Commission, its officials and experts, cooperation and assistance as may be necessary for the exercise of their functions and the fulfillment of the Commission's purpose, in accordance with the laws and regulations in force in their respective countries". We take note of the updated status report of the PTS (CTBT/PTS/INF.249/Rev.3).
Mr. Chairman,
The G-77 and China welcomes the acknowledgement made by the last
session of the Article XIV Conference, held in Vienna from 3-5 September
2003, under the agenda item "Consideration of specific measures to
facilitate the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty", in which Colombia made a proposal regarding the need to
release its arrears, which would help the country in overcoming its
constitutional impediment to ratify the Treaty, allowing the immediate
deposit of the instrument of ratification of the Treaty as an Annex II
country.
Participating States in Conference expressed appreciation for the
commitment expressed by Colombia to ratification of the Treaty and
expressed their interest in finding a solution to its particular
impediments. At the same time, with regard to the concrete proposal made,
participating States noted that it could have various implications and
required further discussion. Participating States suggested that the issue
should be discussed further in the context of the Preparatory Commission
for the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization and its
subsidiary bodies, with the advice of the Provisional Technical
Secretariat.
The Group supports the consideration of this issue.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
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