By Holy See Mission
Statement
of H.E. Archbishop Celestino MiglioreApostolic Nuncio, Permanent Observer of the Holy See to the United
Nationsat
the 2003 Substantive Session of the Disarmament Commission1
April 2003Mr.
Chairman,
My delegation joins in
congratulating you on your election to chair this important Commission.
We also
extend our best wishes to the other members of the bureau.
Months ago, the Holy See
Delegation stated before the First Committee of the 57th
Session of
the UN General Assembly that the old policies of nuclear deterrence,
which
prevailed during the Cold War, must lead now to concrete disarmament
measures,
based on dialogue and multilateral negotiation, which are essential
values in
the disarmament process. Through the instruments of international law,
they
facilitate the peaceful resolution of controversies, help better mutual
understanding and foster a climate of trust, cooperation and respect
between all
States. In this way they promote the effective affirmation of the
culture of
life and peace, which is based upon the values of responsibility,
solidarity and
dialogue.
These words seem that more
significant today when the world once again finds itself listening to
the
mounting rumble of arms. We are confronted by two opposing perspectives:
the
first is based on the conviction that conflicts can be resolved through a
determined and broad-based willingness to negotiate effectively in light
of the
ways and wisdom of the law; the second perspective maintains that, in
the face
of elusive and re-emergent threats, force is more efficacious and
direct.
However, the latter appears to only reduce international cooperation in
disarmament rather than enhance it, inducing negative repercussions on
multilateralism. A clear message in favor of the force of law and not
the law of
force should emerge from this substantive session.
We have come to this forum
with a precise objective: to sustain ways and means to achieve nuclear
disarmament, as well as the practical confidence-building measures in
the field
of conventional arms. The techniques of mediation, negotiation and
verification
are all being advanced today. The arms control system appears to have
worked
effectively and to have brought significant results these last decades.
It only
needs strengthening to better solve new challenges and meet new threats.
Therefore the Holy See wishes to reiterate its support to the principles
and to
the effective implementation of the objectives laid down in the Nuclear
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as well as in the Final Document of the
2000
Review Conference.
Mr. Chairman,
The extraordinary
mobilization of men and women that we see almost everywhere, in these
very days,
indicates that the cause of peace is making great progress in the
conscience of
humanity. It shows increasingly, as a felt aspiration among peoples to
live in
security, in justice, in hope and in a culture of peace, which, - it is
good to
remember this – is centered on the value of the human being and on the
respectful dialogue and co-existence between peoples.
The awareness of the most
emphasized interdependence among nations and of the risks of reciprocal
destruction requires a major accent on multilateralism, which, far from
putting
an undue emphasis on force or selective treaty enforcement, requires all
the
States and individuals to enforce decisively the laws and procedures
that have
been established towards nuclear disarmament and the elimination of the
threats
posed by conventional arms.
This is the moment that
each one of us, aware of the gravity of the present situation when law
must be
chosen to prevail over force, must be animated by a profound sense of
responsibility toward the disarmament process. The most effective way to
make
every member of the international community comply with its own
commitments
appears to be the clear willingness on behalf of everyone and of all
States to
comply with their own commitments within treaties and between them in a
genuine
spirit of multilateralism.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
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