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Canada - General Debate Statement to the First Committee UNGA 72

9 October 2017

Mr. Chair,

Allow me to congratulate you and Bureau members on your election, and to assure you of the full support of my delegation in this Committee.

Our collective challenge is to find ways to advance disarmament, while taking account of contradictory views.  We have made some very real progress, something which, too often, we unfortunately neglect to underline.

Indeed, collective action is clearly benefitting many disarmament issues, for example, in working toward a world free of anti-personnel mines and cluster munitions, taking gender into account in addressing the impacts of armed violence, and preventing unregulated transfers of small arms and light weapons.    

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the opening for signature of the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, also known as the “Ottawa Convention.” In the last two decades, its 162 States Parties have worked together to destroy more than 51 million mines and significantly reduce the number of new mine victims.

Canada remains optimistic that more progress is possible—with patience and compromise – even on the most intractable of issues. Nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation remain pressing concerns. The reckless actions of the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea are especially concerning.   We welcome Security Council unity in responding to these threats and, while seeking a peaceful resolution, Canada calls for greater pressure on the DPRK, especially through more effective sanctions implementation. 

That some states might seek new ways to advance nuclear disarmament in these circumstances is understandable, although we remain unconvinced that the newly negotiated Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons will be effective. 

For Canada, the NPT remains the cornerstone for making progress towards a nuclear weapon free world.  We believe that greater effort is needed to build trust and reduce tensions that fuel the reliance on nuclear weapons for national security. We support the practical and progressive work needed to bring the CTBT into force, to develop negative security assurances, to devise new techniques and global capabilities for credible nuclear disarmament verification and to prepare for the negotiation of a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty. 

Last year, Canada, Germany and the Netherlands sponsored a resolution creating a High-level FMCT Expert Preparatory Group. That resolution affirmed that the FMCT remains a global priority. We are pleased to be chairing this Preparatory Group and will welcome the Chair’s update to this Committee on its progress.

Canada also believes a fully implemented JCPOA is in everyone’s interest, as its extensive verification regime provides the international community with considerable insight into Iran’s nuclear program. We call on all Member States to consider making voluntary contributions to International Atomic Energy Agency’s efforts to monitor and verify JCPOA implementation.

If differences remain over how best to advance nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament, there should be no doubt about chemical weapons. Yet, in 2017, this horrible and indiscriminate weapon was used in both Syria and Iraq. 

We condemn any use of chemical weapons, and call on the Syrian regime to work with the OPCW to ensure the complete declaration and destruction of its chemical weapon stocks and production facilities. Canada’s commitment to eliminating chemical weapons goes beyond words. Since 2012, Canada has contributed more than $30M to help destroy chemical weapons in Libya and Syria, to support special missions and contingency operations in Syria and to strengthen the OPCW’s Rapid Response Assistance Mission.

Canada places a high value on space security and the peaceful use of outer space. Access to space and to space-based services has become essential in the daily lives of most of us on the planet. As we rely more on outer space, we must also be steadfast in promoting its peaceful use and in the mitigation of space debris.  

We believe that the best, most practical, way to develop needed confidence and transparency in space is through voluntary measures that solidify international norms of behaviour. Without first building trust and establishing voluntary “rules of the road”, any efforts towards legally-binding measures are likely to be fruitless.

Canada welcomes the second joint meeting of the First and Fourth Committees. International solutions to the challenges in space do not rest on disarmament or civil cooperation alone, but require a comprehensive approach.

In the 2013 report of the fourth UN Group of Governmental Experts about Information and Telecommunications in the Context of International Security affirmed the application of international law to state behavior in cyberspace. Given this, Canada was troubled that in the 2016-2017 GGE, some States disputed the applicability of international law. For Canada, the UN Charter remains the foundation for international peace and security, including its provisions on the right to self-defence as per Article 51. All State behaviour in cyberspace, as elsewhere, should be governed by International Law, including: the Charter; applicable international humanitarian law; customary international law on state responsibility, including counter measures; and by international human rights law.

The disarmament machinery as a whole has experienced another year of limited achievement.  Substantive discussions took place in the Conference on Disarmament, but no actions were agreed upon. The Disarmament Commission reached agreement in one area, but that alone does little to alter the abysmal credibility of the disarmament machinery. It is therefore easy to understand why states frustrated by this relative inaction might seek alternatives. With this in mind, we look forward to discussion on the disarmament machinery during the 2018 Special Session on Disarmament. 

Mr. Chair,

The proliferation of conventional weapons through illicit or unregulated arms trade is one of the greatest security challenges faced by the international community. These weapons pose a particular risk to vulnerable populations, including women and girls. Canada is therefore moving forward with its accession to the Arms Trade Treaty and provided financial resources to the UN Trust Facility Supporting Cooperation on Arms Regulation to help countries in need of assistance to implement the ATT. 

As I stated in my opening, our collective challenge in this room is to find ways to further advance disarmament. With patience, commitment and compromise, together, we can definitely make progress. 

Thank you.