Pakistan yesterday asked to resume deliberations over a working plan for the international Conference on Disarmament, potentially unraveling consensus on the first agenda the 65-nation body had agreed to in more than a decade, Agence France-Presse reported (see GSN, May 29).
(Aug. 11) -
The international Conference on Disarmament meets in March. Pakistan yesterday said it wanted further review of the first working plan the body had agreed to in more than a decade (Fabbrice Coffrini/Getty Images).
After requesting additional time Friday to communicate with their government, Pakistani representatives called for new consideration of the document that addresses the leaders of certain working groups and the schedule for the negotiations.
The talks themselves, which have been essentially frozen since 1996, are intended to address a fissile material cutoff treaty, a prohibition on space-based weapons and total worldwide nuclear disarmament.
"I was told by the Pakistan (delegation) that they have received instructions and the instructions are to reopen the text that I thought we had agreed on,’ said conference Chairwoman Caroline Millar of Australia.
"I’m concerned that the compromise that we have may be put in jeopardy," Millar said.
Sweden, representing the European Union, expressed frustration at the move.
"We express our profound disappointment at the latest development in the Conference on Disarmament," said Swedish Ambassador Magnus Hellgren. "Since the 29th of May, the [conference] was again involved in endless consultations on mainly practical procedures issues related to the program of work" (Agence France-Presse/Dawn, Aug. 10).
Sweden accused Pakistan of relying on "procedural maneuvers" to prevent conference members from agreeing on nuclear arms reductions, Reuters reported. Japan and the United Kingdom also protested Islamabad's request.
"The signs are not good for getting out of this situation any =time soon. We seem to be sliding back towards the logjam of the past 12 years," said one Western delegate to the conference, which is the permanent forum for talks on disarmament.
Pakistani Ambassador Zamir Akram contended that his nuclear-armed country was acting protect its security.
The Obama administration backed away this year from past U.S. objections to potential terms for fissile material inspections, eliminating a barrier to disarmament that had provided cover for other countries opposed to nuclear-weapon cutbacks, according to Reuters (Robert Evans, Reuters, Aug. 10).