(98.04.06)山口公使ＵＮＤＣ

　　Let me express my gratitude for being the first speaker of this series of general statements at this year's substantive session of the United Nations Disarmament Commission. I sincerely hope that, through our deliberations, we can add something meaningful to the achievements that we have witnessed in disarmament in various frameworks, bilateral, regional and multinational. I can assure you that you will have my delegation's full support and co-operation towards the successful outcome of this session.

　　In the disarmament community, we have recently heard many remarks about small arms and light weapons. Indeed, these weapons are being used as primary instruments of violence causing a large number of casualties. The easy availability of such weapons has led to their accumulation which, in itself, is of a destabilising nature.

　 We have also witnessed an attempt to try to tackle the issue of small arms and light weapons in a comprehensive manner. In accordance with UN resolution 50/70B of 1995, a panel group of governmental experts was established and chaired by Ambassador Donowaki of Japan and the results of their study were submitted to the General Assembly last year.

　 The report contains two groups of recommendations. The first group concerns measures to reduce the excessive and destabilising accumulation and transfer of small arms and light weapons in specific regions of the world where conflicts are or have taken place. In this context the panel found the approach initiated by the United Nations in Mali and the surrounding West African nations significant. It is also noteworthy that the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD established a special task force on Conflict, Peace and Development Cooperation in 1995 and has been formulating the Guidelines on Conflict, Peace and Development Cooperation since 1996. In connection with this, my delegation welcomes the International Conference on "Sustainable disarmament for sustainable development" scheduled to be held in Brussels in October within the framework of the Development Assistance Committee of the OECD.

　 In one of the recommendations, the panel emphasises the importance of developing guidelines for UN Peacekeeping Operations in their activities for post-conflict demobilisation with particular emphasis on collecting and disposing of small arms and light weapons. My country places the highest priority on this recommendation and I would like to come back to it in the Working Group III discussion.

　 The second group of recommendations concerns the prevention of future accumulation and transfer of small arms and light weapons. In this context, the panel found that the guidelines for international arms transfers adopted by the U.N. Disarmament Commission in 1996 were excellent, and revision or improvement was not deemed necessary.

　 Last year, as a follow-up to this panel report, UN resolution 52/38J was adopted. Again, it requested that the Secretary General, with the assistance of a group of government experts, prepare a report to be submitted to the General Assembly in 1999.

　 Other specific efforts are also underway in various fora. An international conference on the moratorium of small arms transfers in West Africa was held in Norway this April. Also relevant is the training seminar initiated by Germany and scheduled for June of this year which focuses on Central Africa and emphasizes the importance of trainers in peace-building through practical disarmament measures.

　 All in all, these manifestations of concerns are bound to drive the issues of small arms and light weapons as well as practical disarmament further up in our disarmament agenda. The UNDC has already made some contributions in this respect and will rightly continue to do so. These efforts in various fora are not mutually exclusive, but, naturally, need to be coordinated in such a way as to achieve the utmost benefit.

　 Let me now turn to the issue of nuclear-weapon-free zones. The development of nuclear-weapon-free zones reflects aspirations expressed regionally towards the ultimate global elimination of nuclear weapons. A nuclear-weapon-free zone would also be a vehicle to strengthen nuclear non-proliferation as well as provide security assurances of a legally binding nature to non-nuclear-weapon states of the region. At last year's meeting of the UNDC, many countries, including Japan, expressed their thoughts concerning the criteria for the establishment of an effective nuclear-weapon-free zone. We believe that those criteria are highly important for future considerations of such zones. As indicated in our working paper, the following four criteria are essential in order for a nuclear-weapon-free zone to be effective.

　 Regarding the issue of the SSOD IV, UN Resolution 52/38F states, in effect, that subject to the emergence of a consensus on its objectives and agenda, the General Assembly will convene the fourth special session devoted to disarmament. It maintains that the exact date and further organizational matters relating to the convening of the special session are subject to the outcome of the deliberations at this substantive session of the UNDC.

　 The idea of having a special session of the United Nations General Assembly dedicated to the cause of disarmament seems to be appealing to many delegations, particularly since mankind has recently beheld the end of the cold war and will soon witness the unfolding of a new millennium.

　 The recent achievements and developments in disarmament, if put in a long-term perspective, are something to be commended. Remarkable progress is underway in the reduction of nuclear weapons. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty was extended indefinitely in 1995 with the collateral introduction of a mechanism to encourage further nuclear disarmament. Last April witnessed the Chemical Weapons Convention's coming into force and the CTBT Preparatory Committee is currently working. We are aware that a special session could catalyse further disarmament developments if we reach a common understanding as to its timing, purpose and agenda. In trying to establish such a common understanding, it is imperative to forge an agreement between the nuclear-weapon States and the non-nuclear-weapon States. We also have to take into account the fact that the SSOD IV has huge financial implications.

　 In concluding my statement, let me touch briefly on the rationalisation of the work of the UNDC. We welcome the initiative taken by the new United Nations Under-Secretary-General responsible for disarmament, Mr. Dhanapala, to take a fresh look at the role of the UNDC. We will have to consider, in due course, how to reflect upon the outcome of his efforts. My delegation does not intend to prejudge the outcome, but I would like to express my delegation's preference to a shorter period of the substantive meetings of the UNDC. This view is shared by many disciples of the disarmament cause, like all of us in this room, whose possible creative contributions are being somewhat hampered by the burden of attending a series of almost uninterrupted meetings in various disarmament fora.