Since this is the first time I take the floor under your Presidency, please allow me to congratulate you upon the assumption of the presidency of the Conference on Disarmament. Let me assure you of my delegation’s continuing support, under your wise guidance.
Mr. President, Dear Colleagues,
Next month, I will complete my term as the Israeli Ambassador to the United Nations and other International Organizations as well as the Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament, after more than four years. I will also conclude more than 40 years of active diplomatic service to my country and retire with much satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment.
During the last four years of work in the CD, my delegation participated in an active manner in discussions, both formal and informal, and in consultations, both in plenary sessions as well as within the regional western group. I had the honor to assume the presidency of the Conference in the beginning of 2014 during which we did our utmost to contribute and promote the Conference's work. In an inclusive and through process we sought the positions of CD member states and achieved agreement on the Agenda of the CD. We continued to contribute to the CD’s work together with our P6 colleagues throughout the year.
In four years of work in the CD, we have witnessed an interesting momentum with the revival of the informal discussions under the 'Schedule of Activities' which enabled all of us to deepen our discussions and our understandings of the core issues on the agenda. The extent of initiatives we have witnessed this year at the CD is a sign to the importance states continue to attach to the CD, and we share the hope of many other CD members that they will help us to revive our important work.
Mr. President,
Israel values the CD and its role as the single multilateral negotiation forum and we continue to hold firm to the view that the CD remains a singular forum which includes all those member states which must participate in disarmament and arms control negotiations in order to ensure that any outcome is meaningful and firmly linked to reality.
There can be no dispute that the CD is in need of a solution which would enable it to overcome the long stalemate; however, Israel believes that any revitalization of the CD has to take place from within the CD itself. Although criticized by some as outdated and as a reflection of past geo-political realities, Israel remains convinced that the rules of procedure, and in particular the rule of consensus, are crucial in light of the complexity and sensitivity of the issues placed on the CD's agenda. Israel, like other members of the Conference, continues to view and evaluate any proposal placed before the CD through the prism of its national security interests. In such matters, decision making cannot be conducted through a majority vote.
Mr. Chairperson,
During my tenure, the world has seen significant events unfolding which heavily impact the topics under discussion in the CD as well as in other arms control/disarmament fora. In the Middle East we have witnessed fundamental changes which include the erosion of states' sovereign control over territories, the development and the usage of chemical weapons by a Syria – despite its accession to the CWC- as well as by NSAs in the region. These abhorrent practices undermine the norm against the use of chemical weapons.
During these years terrorist organizations acquired arsenals which, in some cases, far exceed those held by states in quantity and quality. They include advanced weapons such as UAVs, MANPADS, rockets and missiles of various ranges as well as advanced shore to ship missiles.
To this one must add the continued violations by Iran to UNSC resolutions in particular regarding the development and testing of its missiles programs as well as its support of terrorist organizations and involvement in subversive activities on the regional level. Additional worrying developments on the global sphere include, inter alia, the nuclear and missile testing executed by the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and its continued proliferation of weapons to the Middle East. These endanger regional and global stability alike.
Mr. President.
Israel believes that a more secure and peaceful Middle East requires all regional States to engage in a process of direct and sustained dialogue to address the broad range of regional security challenges in the region. Such a dialogue, based on the widely accepted principle of consensus, can only emanate from within the region and address in an inclusive manner the threat perceptions of all regional parties in order to enhance and improve their security. Direct contact, combined with trust and confidence-building, is an essential basis for the creation of a new security paradigm in a region fraught with wars, conflicts, disintegration of national territories and human suffering.
Accordingly, Israel agreed in 2011 to enter a long process of consultations with Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Security Policy of Finland, Jaakko Laajava, regarding the regional security challenges in the Middle East. Subsequently, Israel was the first country in the region to respond positively to Mr. Laajava’s proposal to engage in multilateral consultations in Switzerland to advance a regional dialogue. Between October 2013 and June 2014, five rounds of multilateral consultations were held in Switzerland between Israel and several of its Arab neighbours. The central purpose of the meetings was to seek regional consensus on all the essential aspects of a conference in Helsinki, including the agenda, the concluding document and the necessary modalities. Israel attended all of these meetings and engaged in good faith and sincerity with the other participants. It is unfortunate that our neighbours did not adopt a similar attitude towards the continuation of these consultations. It is especially unfortunate as the Middle East sorely lacks mechanisms which might contribute to the enhancement of understandings, the cessations of hostilities and the promotion of a more stable and secure Middle East.
Mr. President,
On a more personal note, I saw action during my military service and in particular during the Yom Kippur War. I saw first- hand the consequences of war. My belief in and commitment to disarmament was always and will continue to be strong even after I retire. While sometimes wars are inevitable, our aspiration remains steadfast towards the implementation of the eternal words of the Prophet Isaiah: "And they shall beat their swords into plowshares, and their spears into pruning hooks" (Isaiah 2:4).
The CD has served the international community well in past years. It is too vital an institution to be cast aside. We are confident that the CD has much to contribute in the future. Even though the achievements of the Conference have fallen short of what we would have liked, let us not take a path which might prevent this institution from going forward. I leave this important task in your hands to follow through.
Thank you.