Summary: November 5, 2003: General statement by H.E. Ambassador Carlo Trezza, on behalf of the European Union - FIRST COMMITTEE - Cluster n. 7 "Disarmament machinery" (New York)
Mr. Chairman,
It is my honour to speak on behalf of the European Union. The Acceding Countries (Cyprus, Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia and Slovenia), the Associated Countries of Bulgaria, Romania and Turkey and the EFTA Countries of Iceland, Liechtenstein and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, align themselves with this statement.
Mr. Chairman,
Let me start by saying that we fully endorse the draft resolution L.15 rev.1 "Improving the effectiveness of the methods of work of the First Committee" which has been co-sponsored by all EU member States and acceding countries. Indeed we are committed to increase the effectiveness of the working methods of the First Committee. This is not a task which can be settled once and for all. Rather we need to keep the work of the First Committee constantly under review in order to rationalize it and
to keep abreast of the security challenges that need to be addressed. In this regard I would like to recall the efforts undertaken in 1993 by one of your predecessors: the then German Chairman of the First Committee, who presented proposals for the rationalization of the work of this body and submitted a resolution which was adopted by consensus. This Resolution should remain a point of reference for the task ahead of us. We are committed to maintaining the relevance of the First Committee and
enhancing its effectiveness. We advocate an inclusive and focused approach which takes account of all the security concerns of its members.
We were encouraged by the presence of the President of the General Assembly to our deliberations as well as by the active participation of delegations in the informal debate which was, wisely, convened by you on this issue. Many new ideas were raised during these discussions and several written contributions were circulated. We welcome them all as a tangible support to our work and we commend you, Mr Chairman, for having initiated this debate.
The EU believes that the working methods in the First Committee can be improved to the benefit of all Members and is convinced of the need to maintain a balanced agenda which reflects important goals and objectives. The First Committee should also be able to react to and focus upon today's immediate security problems. At the same time, it is essential that all delegations in the First Committee should be able to express their main concerns in the field of disarmament, non proliferation and
security in general and to table resolutions reflecting those concerns.
On this basis the EU is ready to continue to discuss and deliberate on the issue of a Rationalization of the work of the First Committee and to convey to the Secretary General its views on the issue of improving the effectiveness of the methods of work of the First Committee.
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