POTUS CHAIRS UNSC SUMMIT, PASSES UNANIMOUS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 USUN NEW YORK 000860 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PARM UNSC KNNP KSUM SUBJECT: POTUS CHAIRS UNSC SUMMIT, PASSES UNANIMOUS RESOLUTION ON NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT AND NON-PROLIFERATION ¶1. (SBU) Summary. President Obama on September 24 convened a heads-of-state summit of the UN Security Council at which resolution 1887 on nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation was adopted unanimously and with full Council co-sponsorship. In addition to the 15 Security Council members, the UN Secretary General and IAEA Director-General also made statements. Although many delegations balanced their statements among the themes of nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy, some gave particular focus to one theme. Costa Rica, Austria, Mexico and Libya concentrated on nuclear disarmament, France focused almost exclusively on Iran and North Korea, and Uganda made a plea for peaceful uses of nuclear energy. In addition to France, leaders from the UK, Japan and the U.S. made specific references to Iran and North Korea as proliferation threats. All delegations warmly welcomed the President's initiative to convene the summit. End summary. ¶2. (SBU) President Obama on September 24 convened a heads-of-state summit meeting of the Security Council. Resolution 1887 on nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation was adopted unanimously at the beginning of the meeting. All 15 Council members co-sponsored the text. The President delivered the U.S. statement, stressing the threat and spread of nuclear weapons and the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. (See text at http://www.whitehouse.gov/the press office.) UN Secretary General Ban was next to speak, saying that he had emphasized the need for a stronger role for the Council on the issue of nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation. Ban focused his statement on three actions: increase transparency and openness regarding the weapons programs of the nuclear-weapon states; promote universal membership in key treaties, such as a fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT)and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT); and facilitate the parallel tracks of nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation, by making sure that the IAEA has the resources and support it needs. Nuclear Disarmament ¶3. (SBU) Many states called for ratification of the CTBT and an early start to negotiations on a FMCT. Oscar Arias, President of Costa Rica, said countries choose to create more nuclear weapons than abandon them, as evidenced by the more than 22,000 nuclear warheads in existence. Austrian President Heinz Fischer said the goal of all states should be a world without nuclear weapons, and that the NPT is the core document to promote that goal. Russian President Medvedev said, "(Russia) continues to reduce nuclear armaments way ahead of schedule." He reiterated that the U.S. and Russia had carried out unprecedented reductions in strategic nuclear armaments in the framework of START and stated Russia's readiness to continue to move forward and its willingness to complete the post-START negotiations by December. Mexican President Felipe Calderon said while Mexico welcomed the efforts of the U.S. and Russia to reduce their stockpiles of nuclear weapons, the two countries still "control 90 percent of the world's nuclear weapons." Resolution 1887, he said, should help move forward the process of disarmament. ¶4. (SBU) Chinese Premier Hu Jintao said all nuclear-weapon states should take the lead in nuclear disarmament and make "drastic reductions" in their arsenals, and he called for states to join the CTBT and start negotiations immediately on a FMCT. Hu highlighted China's commitment to a no-first-use policy and urged all nuclear-weapon states to make similar pledges. UK Prime Minister Gordon Brown said nuclear-weapon states must pursue "active disarmament with a credible roadmap that will command the confidence of non-nuclear weapon states." As a demonstration of the UK's disarmament pledge, Brown said that when the UK's next class of nuclear submarines entered into service in the mid-2020s, its fleet would be reduced from four boats to three. Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama made several references to Japan's unique status as the only country in the world that was the victim of a nuclear attack. He called on the nuclear-weapon states to reduce their arsenals and adopt transparent measures on verification, and he urged early entry into force of the CTBT and FMCT. Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan and Libyan Permanent Representative to the UN Abdurrahman Shalgam (Libyan Leader Qaddafi was not present at the meeting) highlighted the importance of establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones, in particular a zone in the Middle East, and Shalgam further asserted that Israel's Dimona nuclear facility should be inspected just like any other country's facility. Shalgam said, "My country took the historic initiative to give up the nuclear bomb," and by USUN NEW Y 00000860 002 OF 002 doing so, "made a great service to international peace and security." Thus, he said, "Libya deserves the appreciation of the world" and a permanent seat on the Security Council. Non-Proliferation ¶5. (SBU) Most speakers emphasized the need to strengthen the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and the IAEA. French President Nicolas Sarkozy made the day's strongest comments about the proliferation challenges posed by Iran and North Korea. In unscripted remarks, Sarkozy said that Iran's and North Korea's actions are undermining the very rules on which collective security is based. Sarkozy said, "In violation of five Security Council resolutions, Iran is pursuing its nuclear proliferation activities." UK PM Gordon Brown said the world cannot stand by while Iran and North Korea reject the opportunities of peaceful civil nuclear power and instead take steps to develop nuclear weapons. He also said countries must give the IAEA the resources it needs to verify compliance. The Japanese Prime Minister was the only other speaker (besides the U.S.) to name Iran and North Korea as proliferation threats, and said stronger measures were needed to fully implement resolution 1874, which imposed sanctions on North Korea. ¶6. (SBU) Croatian President Stjepan Mesic said that nuclear non-proliferation must come before disarmament, and called upon countries to prevent abuse of the NPT. Austrian President Fischer and Turkish PM Erdogan noted that resolution 1540 on non-proliferation of WMD required further implementation. Medvedev called upon states to take advantage of non-proliferation mechanisms through 1540 and the Global Initiative to Combat Nuclear Terrorism. Chinese Premier Hu urged all countries to join the NPT and tighten and improve export controls. IAEA Director General Mohamed Elbaradei lamented that the IAEA's legal authority is severely limited and 90 states have not allowed full inspections of nuclear facilities, a problem exacerbated by the fact that the IAEA's verification mandate only includes nuclear material, not the weaponization of the material. To counter this, Elbaradei said countries need to work toward putting in place a multilateral fuel bank of low-enriched uranium to implement an accessible nuclear fuel cycle. Elbaradei also made a plea for adequate funding for the IAEA, saying that the agency cannot fulfill its mandate at its current level of funding. Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy ¶7. (SBU) Most delegations voiced the need for enhancement of access to civil nuclear energy. Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni said that Africa is not interested in nuclear weapons but nuclear energy, and he called on states to work toward making access to civil nuclear energy more feasible, a point echoed by Burkina Faso President Blaise Comaore, French President Sarkozy, and Mexican President Calderon. RICE