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Presentation
on
"Conference
of States parties to the regional zones"
to
the forum
"PARLIAMENTARIANS,
THE NUCLEAR NON-PROLIFERATION TREATY AND NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE
ZONES"
I would like to begin by thanking the Parliamentary
Network for Nuclear Disarmament and Parliamentarians
for Global Action (New Zealand) for inviting me to take
part in this forum with a presentation concerning the
international Conference of States Parties and Signatories
to the Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaties.
It will come as no surprise to those present at this
event when I reiterate Mexico's conviction that disarmament
must play a central role in the collective security
system, within which compliance with multilaterally-negotiated
obligations is the best way of preventing the development
of doctrines that claim to endorse unilateral decisions
and so-called actions of a preventive nature.
The ongoing presence of threats to international peace
and security including the continued existence of large
arsenals of nuclear weapons and the lack of progress
in the main international disarmament and non-proliferation
fora should motivate the States to embark on new initiatives.
Mexico decided to contribute once again with
the announcement at the United Nations last October
that it is ready to host an international Conference
of States
Parties and Signatories to the Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone
Treaties in 2005.
Mexico supports the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free
zones as it considers them to be an instrument through
which the ultimate objective of returning to a world
free of nuclear weapons can be reached. The importance
and validity of this type of zone have been ratified
at the international and regional level in recent decades
since the Treaty of Tlatelolco was opened for signing
on 14 February 1967, thereby establishing the first
nuclear-weapon-free zone in a densely-populated region.
Following the passing of the indefinite extension of
the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
in 1995, as well as the opening to signature of the
Treaty of Bangkok in 1995 and the Treaty of Pelindaba
in 1996 several States began to consider the merits
of holding an international meeting so that the States
that belonged to nuclear-weapon-free zones could increase
and strengthen cooperation while at the same time sharing
experiences about applying the provisions of the treaties
which establish such zones.
This concern, shared by a large number of States, was
addressed with the resolution promoted by Brazil entitled
"Nuclear-Weapon-Free Southern Hemisphere and Adjacent
Areas", passed by the General Assembly with an overwhelming
majority. I would like to acknowledge the active
role played by the New Zealand delegation in the United
Nations to generate greater support for the objectives
the resolution sets out to meet. The Mexican delegation
has worked assiduously towards the same goal.
This year the resolution 59/85 was adopted by the United
Nations General Assembly with 171 votes in favour, 4
against (France, the United Kingdom, the United States
and Palau) and 8 abstentions (Bhutan, India, Israel,
Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Pakistan, Russian Federation
and Spain). Mexico and New Zealand were among
the 19 States Members who were joint sponsors of the
resolution which welcomes the announcement that an international
conference of States Parties and Signatories to
the Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaties will be held in
Mexico in 2005 with the aim of working towards the common
objectives envisaged by the aforementioned treaties.
As noted earlier, the Government of Mexico took this
initiative at the United Nations with the backing of
the States Parties of the Treaty of Tlatelolco and in
support of the decision taken in this regard in 1999
by the General Conference of the Agency for the Proscription
of Nuclear Weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean
(OPANAL in Spanish). States Parties of the Treaty of
Tlatelolco welcomed the offer made by the Mexican government
to host such conference with Resolution 460 adopted
on 23 November 2004 by the XVII Special Session of the
General Conference of OPANAL. It is expected that the
Secretary General of OPANAL, Ambassador Edmundo Vargas
Carreño will be the secretary of the international conference.
The aim of this conference is to promote better coordination
between the States parties and signatories to the Treaties
of Tlatelolco, Pelindaba, Bangkok and Rarotonga, to
ensure the strict observance of the legal regimes that
these zones have created and to support the establishment
of additional nuclear-weapon-free zones in other parts
of the world.
It is hoped that the Political Declaration which comes
from the Conference will make a contribution to the
work of the 2005 NPT Review Conference.
At this stage the planned declaration has already been
agreed on by the States parties to the Treaty of Tlatelolco
and consultations with representatives of other zones
to facilitate its adoption in Mexico are now underway.
Mexico hopes that a large number of delegations of States
Parties and Signatories to the Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone
Treaties will attend this event and that those governments
which are able to offer support so that delegations
from other States can participate, will do so.
I am certain that once again the contribution of the
government and the people of New Zealand to the cause
of nuclear disarmament will be in evidence.
I would like to conclude by affirming that the results
of the international Conference of States Parties and
Signatories to the Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaties
should also contribute to the deliberations on the establishment
of nuclear-weapon-free zones in the Middle East and
South Asia, which would be an effective way of responding
to one of the recommendations made by the High-Level
Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change.
Wellington,
8 December 2004.
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