The international Conference on Disarmament was unable to overcome the latest impediment to resuming discussions on drawing down the world's nuclear arsenals, Reuters reported last week (see GSN, Aug. 21).
The 65 nations of the conference in May thought they had finally broken a deadlock of more than a decade by agreeing on a work plan for discussion of four topics -- nuclear disarmament, a fissile material treaty, banning space-based weapons, and a pledge by nuclear-armed states not to use their strategic weapons against nations that do not possess such armaments.
Pakistan, though, demanded reconsideration of the work plan and could not be persuaded to withdraw its objection.
Serious negotiations now would begin no earlier than January, according to diplomats.
"The window of opportunity for this year is closing today," conference President Christian Strohal of Austria said on Aug 31. "It is with serious regret that I have to inform the conference that consensus ... still eludes us."
The conference is scheduled to end its present session on Sept. 18, so even if Pakistan had assented, the time for serious talks would have been limited, Reuters reported.
"It would have been largely symbolic. The practical effects would not be huge. We will have to come back to it in January," according to one Western ambassador.
Nuclear disarmament talks planned for this fall at the United Nations could be an avenue for addressing Pakistan's concerns, diplomats said.
Islamabad said it worried that the Conference on Disarmament intended to emphasize the fissile material treaty at the expense of the other issues.
"We wanted to see a program of work being implemented in a way that would set the stage for a balanced outcome on all the four issues," said Pakistani Ambassador Zamir Akram.
Other nations in the Nonaligned Movement supported Pakistan's stand, he said (Jonathan Lynn, Reuters, Aug. 31).