Le discours du ministre des Affaires étrangères, Monsieur Tuomioja à la Conférence sur le désarmement

Dans son discours adressé à la Conférence sur le désarmement à Genève le 15 mars 2005, le ministre des Affaires étrangères, Monsieur Erkki Tuomioja a exprimé son inquiétude face à la menace de prolifération des armes de destruction massive et de leur propagation. Monsieur Tuomioja a également souligné le fait que des groupes terroristes pouvaient être intéressés par l'acquisition d'armes de destruction massive, et a en conséquence accentué l'importance des efforts concertés pour éliminer une telle possibilité.

Monsieur Tuomioja a exprimé le soutien vigoureux de la Finlande au traité de non-prolifération des armes nucléaires, qui sera examiné lors de la conférence de révision prévue en mai à New York. Selon Monsieur Tuomioja, le traité doit rester la pierre angulaire de la sécurité et de la stabilité internationales. Monsieur Tuomioja a également mentionné les évolutions préoccupantes, entre autres, en Corée du nord et en Iran.

La Conférence sur le désarmement à Genève a déjà négocié, entre autres , la convention sur les armes chimiques (CWC) et le traité d'interdiction des essais nucléaires (CTBT), pas encore entré en vigueur pour le moment. Monsieur Tuomioja a exhorté toutes les nations à contribuer à la ratification du CTBT.

La Conférence sur le désarmement à Genève n'a pas été capable de remplir son mandat de négocier l'accord sur le contrôle des armes pour 8 ans. Afin de rétablir sa position en tant que forum international clé de négociations, la Conférence sur le désarmement devrait, selon Monsieur Tuomioja, engager les négociations sur le FMCT.

La ministre a également demandé un soutien aux négociations sur la diminution des problèmes humanitaires engendrés par les mines anti-véhicule. Ces entretiens sont coordonnés au nom de la Finlande par l'Ambassadeur Markku Reimaa, et sont menés à Genève à un niveau supérieur dans le cadre de la Convention sur certaines armes conventionnelles (CCW).

Statement by H.E. Mr Erkki Tuomioja,
Minister for Foreign Affairs of Finland
The Conference on Disarmament
Geneva, 15 March 2005


Mr President, Mr Secretary-General, Distinguished Delegates, Ladies and Gentlemen,

I am pleased to have this opportunity of addressing the Conference on Disarmament. To begin with, let me congratulate Ambassador Caughley of New Zealand for his nomination as the current President of the Conference, and pledge Finland's full support for his work to the benefit of the Conference.

The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery is today a major threat to the global security. The international community as a whole is concerned about the acquisition of such weapons by terrorists and about some states' wish to become possessors of these weapons. We cannot ignore this development. Collective efforts are needed to halt the advance of the phenomenon worldwide.

I am happy to note increased interest of the international community in these issues. The Security Council approved Resolution 1540 and the High Level Panel on Threats, Challenges and Change paid close attention to the WMD and disarmament in general. However, though positive, this is not yet enough. It is essential that we have universally agreed norms and rules that set standards of behaviour to be followed by all states and non-state actors.

Mr President,

The global Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty sets such international standards. Finland is fully committed to promoting its continued success. Finland is one of its original States Parties and a strong supporter of the Treaty from its inception. The NPT has successfully limited the number of nuclear-weapon states. It supports global stability and encourages nuclear-weapon states to engage in nuclear disarmament, with the ultimate goal of eliminating all nuclear weapons.

The Review Conference in May should directly recognize that the NPT is and must remain a cornerstone of international security and stability and be observed by non-nuclear and nuclear-weapon states alike.

At the same time, we cannot close our eyes to worrisome developments. At least three states with acknowledged or unacknowledged nuclear weapons remain outside the NPT despite insistent requests to join the Treaty by the international community over the years.

Another state, the Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea, has renounced its obligations as a State Party to the NPT. It is now openly flaunting its proclaimed status as a nuclear-weapon state to the detriment of regional and international security. Collective action from the part of the international community is needed to reverse this dangerous course of events.

Equally worrisome is the challenge that Iran, a State Party to the NPT and to its safeguards obligations, is now challenging the credibility of the international non-proliferation regime. Finland fully supports the efforts of the three NPT states, acting on behalf of all Member States of the European Union, as well as those of the Director-General of the IAEA, to ensure Iran's compliance with its NPT obligations.

However, we must also recognise that the long-term success of our present and future efforts to strengthen the non-proliferation regime will also depend on the willingness of the nuclear-weapon states to refrain from developing new kinds of nuclear arms and to reduce their own stockpiles of nuclear weapons and their reliance on them in their military doctrines.

Mr President,

The Conference on Disarmament can justifiably be proud of having managed to create international norms on disarmament. The Chemical Weapons Convention, the first international legal instrument to ban an entire category of weapons of mass destruction in a verifiable manner, was successfully negotiated by the CD. The Convention is now being successfully implemented, but large stockpiles of chemical weapons are still undestroyed. Progress in the destruction of this material is an essential element of non-proliferation, and states should jointly contribute to the carrying out of this enormous and at the same time urgent task.

The Global Partnership initiative is a concrete response to this common responsibility. What actually is needed at the moment is an acceleration of the implementation of the commitments the states have made, including those that my own country has made.

The Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty was finalised at this conference more than eight years ago in 1996 but the Treaty has still not entered into force. Even if not ratified by all those states whose signature and ratification are required for the Treaty to enter into force, the CTBT has become an observed international norm. No nuclear tests have been conducted since. But we cannot rely on the efficacy of moral persuasion alone. The CTBT must enter into force. Finland urges all those states that
have not yet ratified the CTBT to do so as soon as possible.
The CWC and the CTBT are indeed laurels on the conference's brow. Unfortunately, for the past eight years the Conference on Disarmament has done little but rested on its laurels. This immobility is a source of growing concern for countries such as Finland that believe in a globally representative permanent forum for disarmament negotiations.

Mr President,

There is a danger that this conference will sink into irrelevance that states will increasingly turn toward other ways and means of negotiating international disarmament commitments than this conference. That, I believe, is in nobody's true interest.

The conference can yet redeem itself by engaging, finally and in earnest, in the FMCT negotiations, for which it is by far the most natural forum thanks to its composition and expertise.

During the past years, viable disarmament processes with good results have been taking place outside the CD especially in the field of conventional arms. The CD could devote more attention to issues related to conventional arms. However, the results are, of course, more important than the forum of negotiations.

The Ottawa Convention prohibiting the use, stockpiling, production, and transfer of anti-personnel mines has clearly been one of the major successes in disarmament in the past years. Even though Finland has not been a party to the Convention, it has supported an effective and global ban on anti-personnel landmines and has been, in fact, implementing most of the provisions of the Convention. Finland does not produce or export anti-personnel landmines and, during peace time, anti-personnel mines are in stockpiles. There are no mine-fields in Finland. The Finnish Parliament has confirmed that Finland will accede to the Convention and thereby become fully committed to observing this international norm as from 2012. All APL stockpiles in Finland will consequently be destroyed by 2016.

Solutions to issues relating to small arms and light weapons, the everyday weapons of mass destruction, are being sought in the UN small arms process. The run-up to the Review Conference of this process in 2006 will give us an opportunity to address the issues that did not receive sufficient attention in the 2001 conference or that were not appropriately addressed in the Programme of Action. One of them is, I think, export controls at the national level, regionally and in terms of international export control regimes.

Finland supports and is actively taking part in efforts aiming at the creation of common global standards for arms export. Such standards must be based on existing international obligations under relevant international law. Stronger export controls on these weapons are necessary tools also in the fight against terrorism. There is also an explicit relationship between security measures, the enjoyment of human rights and sustainable development.

The Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons has recently gained some fresh impetus. The Protocol on Explosive Remnants of War, which Finland has already ratified, was concluded 2003 and will hopefully enter into force soon. At the same time useful exploratory work has been done on the issue of anti-vehicle landmines. The Coordinator of MOTAPM, Ambassador Reimaa, needs your full support in his work. We hope that these efforts can be brought to a successful conclusion this year.

Mr President

In today's world, peace and security must be addressed from a global perspective. We need a multilateral security system that is based on cooperation. I believe that we all agree on this. Concrete results have been achieved in the past but many steps are still required. I hope that this conference will assume the lead in taking those steps.

Thank you Mr President.