Conference on Disarmament to name three coordinators in bid to break stalemate

Aiming to break the continuing stalemate at the Conference on Disarmament, the Geneva-based multilateral negotiating body today decided to name three coordinators to lead consultations on specific issues.

The Conference on Disarmament will appoint Special Coordinators on the Review of its Agenda, the Expansion of its Membership and its Improved and Effective Functioning. According to the agreement announced today, the three will take account of all existing proposals and views, as well as future initiatives. They are to report back to the Conference before the conclusion of its 2001 session.

The current President of the Conference, Ambassador Camilo Reyes Rodriguez of Colombia, said that the proposal had received unanimous approval during informal consultations he had held yesterday. Describing the decision as a modest achievement that would lead to overcoming the current stalemate in the Conference, he said he would immediately begin consultations on the appointment of the three Coordinators.

Established in 1979, the Conference on Disarmament is the single multilateral negotiating forum for disarmament agreements. The body, which works strictly on the basis of consensus on matters that touch the national security interests of States, has a unique relationship with the United Nations General Assembly, which takes its recommendations into account. The Conference, however, defines its own rules and develops its own agenda.