Austria, Mexico, and Norway have submitted an important resolution to the First Committee of the UN General Assembly.   But, if adopted, resolution A/C.1/66/L.2 will set the stage for a breakthrough in the global process of establishing a nuclear-weapon-free world.  The purpose of this Action Kit is to help you to be an effective contributor to the global effort for adoption of this resolution before it is voted upon by the First Committee in late October or early November.

The Resolution

The proposal before the First Committee is to have the next UNGA establish working groups in Geneva to put the diplomatic community there to work after sixteen years of inaction there if the Conference on Disarmament (CD) fails yet again to achieve a breakthrough in 2012.  A working group would hold substantive discussion on nuclear disarmament (ND), including “the achievement of a world without nuclear weapons.”  Furthermore, the working group would have the authority to consider “the possibility of initiating negotiations on legally binding instruments.”  Unlike, the CD which takes all decisions by consensus, the working group, as a subsidiary body of the UNGA, would conducting its business by UNGA rules.  It could, if need be, decide by a vote to commence negotiations.

The other topics that working groups would also cover are Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty (FMCT) and negative security assurances (NSAs), and prevention of an arms race in outer space (PAROS).

The Challenge

Sadly, there are a fair number of countries which find that the stalemate in the Conference on Disarmament (CD) suits their purposes just fine.  Over the last fifteen years, there has always been at least one country that was willing to abuse the consensus rule of the CD to obstruct work the rest of the CD members were willing to pursue.  These countries will mobilize to thwart this resolution, but they have one big disadvantage: they are a small minority.

We have three weeks to ensure that this opposition is isolated and that the resolution is adopted by a healthy majority of the UN member states.  We can do it.

Fundamentally, this is a question of good faith.  Most states have tried, in good faith, to find a way forward in the CD.  These efforts have failed but they are willing to try one last time in 2012.  Perhaps the obstructionists will now realize that further obstruction is fruitless, in which case the CD might be able to start making up for lost time.  If not, the UNGA will have a momentous decision to make in 2012.

Our job is to make sure every country realizes that it is being put to a test and will be held accountable for its performance in the First Committee.    Any country that opposes or abstains will be under pressure to prove the CD can work.  If the CD nonetheless remains deadlocked, countries that vote for this resolution will be assuming a responsibility to ensure that action is taken in the UNGA 2012.

Lobbying objectives

 
Countries that should be sympathetic to this initiative ought to vote for or even become co-sponsors of the resolution.  Austria, Mexico, and Norway are an excellent start, but the resolution would benefit by having wider support geographically, particularly Africa and Asia.  The three will be reaching out; wherever possible we should be encouraging a positive response.  The highly politicized leadership of the Non-Aligned Movement is unlikely to be very helpful in this regard; support will have to come from its rank and file. 

Countries that are susceptible to opposition pressure to sit on the fence should feel intense counter-pressure.  Allowing the current impasse to continue perpetually is no longer an option.  Note that with Norway in the lead, other NATO countries cannot hide behind a NATO ‘consensus.’

If possible, it would be very good if one or two nuclear-armed states could be convinced not to oppose the resolution.  The ‘peer pressure’ of the Nuclear Club should not be underestimated, but nothing is lost by NGOs in those countries raising this issue forcefully.  It can only help in terms of getting these countries to participate constructively in the new working groups in 2013.


Action tools:

A letter thanking each country that supports/sponsors the resolution.   Click here for up-to-date information.

A draft letter for individual or group signature that urges government support of the resolution.  (Available soon.)

A draft Parliamentary question that you can ask your representative to pose to your government.  (Thanks to PPND!) click here

A letter that criticizes government statements opposed to the resolution.  (Available soon.)  Again click here for latest information.

Documents:

Historical Background

This is important because it makes clear that this effort is not at all ‘sudden’ as some governments are , rather it come after an almost overdone patience.

Full text of Resolution – annotated

A good deal of thought has gone into the precise wording of the resolution.  It is worth being aware of it.

Contact:  Aaron Tovish, aaron@2020visioncampaign.org