PERMANENT MISSION OF CHILE TO THE UNITED NATIONS

STATEMENT

by Ambassador Maria Del Carmen Dominguez Chargfi d'Affaires Mission of Chile to the UN

UN DISARMAMENT COMMISSION

New York, 02 April 2018

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Statement by the Delegation of Chile at the General Debate of the Disarmament Commission

Madam Chair Allow me to start congratulating you on your election as Chairperson of the Disarmament Commission and to wish you every success at the beginning of this new cycle. We also want to extend these compliments to the members of the Bureau. You can count on our firm commitment

to contribute actively and positively to the results of the deliberations. Chile is and has been a strong supporter and promoter of General and Complete Disarmament,

always privileging the debate in a broad, transparent and democratic multilateral space, in line with its foreign policy. Likewise, my country firmly adheres to the principle of Indivisibility of International Security, that is, all States, regardless of their size or power, have a shared responsibility to contribute to the consolidation of an international order based on cooperation and regulated by norms.

It is in this context that we reiterate the importance of the Disarmament Commission as the specialized and deliberative body within the disarmament machinery of the United Nations, which allows us to conduct debates on priority issues with a view to producing substantive recommendations. Madam Chair, For Chile, nuclear disarmament constitutes, in the context of weapons of mass destruction, the most urgent task because of its incomparable capacity for destruction that compromises the very

existence of humanity, and therefore its incorporation into the deliberations of this forum is fundamental. We would have liked to have agreed on a more specific approach to address this issue.

Chile is convinced that coexistence in a world without nuclear weapons is possible and that maintaining international peace and security without recourse to nuclear deterrence is, in addition

to an ethical imperative, an attainable goal and in line with the international system of protection of human rights. This is particularly urgent in an international environment such as the one we are experiencing, shocked by recent threats of the use of weapons of mass destruction, in open

violation of the Charter of the United Nations and International Law. Chile's commitment to disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation is clear, so on September 20,

Chile signed the Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the last category of weapons of mass destruction not explicitly prohibited by a legally binding instrument, and that It opens a promising path in the common goal of a planet free of nuclear weapons, strengthening and complementing the current legal architecture on the subject.

Madam Chair Chile also recognizes the importance of incorporating into our work the subject of transparency and confidence-building measures in outer space activities, sharing also the common interest of

mankind in promoting the exploration and use of outer space for peaceful purposes, regardless of the degree of their social, economic or scientific development.

In this regard, my delegation supports the establishment of a subsidiary body recently created in the Conference on Disarmament specifically devoted to the prevention of the arms race in outer

space and the Group of Governmental Experts established by the General Assembly through resolution 72 / 250. We sincerely hope that these dialogue mechanisms will produce concrete results on this issue to which my country assigns a high priority. Chile believes that measures of transparency and confidence-building in outer space activities, which will be the subject of our deliberations, should be complementary, in a collective effort aimed at a necessary regulatory evolution in the field of outer space, including, a legally binding instrument to prevent an arms race in outer space.

Madam Chair The Disarmament Commission, despite having produced concrete recommendations in the last cycle, after many years, has not escaped in general, the crisis facing the disarmament machinery that, operating under the most extreme version of the consensus rule, has doubled the meaning

and scope that this tool has, and had for a long time, as generator of the dialogue and promoter of broad agreements. To foster an atmosphere of trust and greater transparency, it is a priority to achieve our objective,

for which we would like to end by calling on all delegations to take a pragmatic approach and conduct themselves with maximum flexibility at the start of this new cycle, to repeat the success achieved last year and get concrete results. For that, Madam Chair, from now on you can count on the commitment and cooperation of our delegation.

Thank you very much

Intervenci6n Delegaci6n de Chile en Debate General de la Comisi6n de Desarme

Sra. Presidenta La felicito por su elecci6n como Presidenta de la Comisi6n de Desarme y le deseo el mayor de los xitos al inicio de este nuevo ciclo. Asimismo hacemos extensivos estos parabienes a los miembros de la mesa, y reiteramos nuestro firme compromiso de contribuir activa y positivamente a los resultados de las deliberaciones. Chile es y ha sido un firme partidario y promotor del desarme general y completo, privilegiando

siempre el debate en un espacio multilateral amplio, transparente y democrÿtico, en Ifnea con su polftica exterior. Asimismo, mi pals adhiere firmemente al principio de Indivisibilidad de la Seguridad Internacional. En otras palabras, todos los Estados comparten la responsabilidad de contribuir a la consolidaci6n de un orden internacional basado en la cooperaci6n y regulado por normas.

Es en ese contexto, que reiteramos la importancia de la Comisi6n de Desarme como el 6rgano especializado y deliberativo dentro de la maquinaria de desarme de las Naciones Unidas, que nos permite conducir debates sobre materias prioritarias con miras a producir recomendaciones sustantivas. Sra. Presidenta, Para Chile, el desarme nuclear constituye, en el contexto de las armas de destrucci6n masiva, la mÿs apremiante tarea por su incomparable capacidad de destrucci6n que compromete la existencia misma de la humanidad, y por ello su incorporaci6n en las deliberaciones de este foro

resulta fundamental. Habrfamos deseado que se hubiese acordado un enfoque mÿs especffico para abordar esta temÿtica. Chile tiene la convicci6n que la coexistencia en un mundo sin armas nucleares es posible, y que mantener la paz y la seguridad internacional sin recurrir a la disuasi6n nuclear es, ademÿs de un imperativo ÿtico, una meta alcanzable yen consonancia con el sistema internacional de protecci6n de los derechos humanos. Lo anterior cobra especial urgencia en un ambiente internacional como el que estamos viviendo, conmocionado por recientes amenazas de uso de armas de destrucci6n masiva, en abierta violaci6n a la Carta de Naciones Unidas y el Derecho Internacional. El pasado 20 de septiembre, Chile dio una nueva muestra de su compromiso mediante la firma

del Tratado de Prohibici6n de Armas Nucleares, 61tima categorfa de armas de destrucci6n masiva no prohibidas explfcitamente mediante un instrumento jurfdicamente vinculante, y que abre un promisorio camino en el objetivo comÿn de un planeta libre de armas nucleares, robusteciendo y complementando la actual arquitectura jurfdica sobre la materia. Sra. Presidenta Chile reconoce la importancia de incorporar en nuestro trabajo el tema de medidas de transparencia y fomento de la confianza en las actividades en el espacio ultraterrestre, compartiendo asimismo, el interns com6n en promover y expandir la exploraci6n y el uso del

espacio ultraterrestre para fines exclusivamente pacfficos y en beneficio e interns de toda la humanidad, independientemente del grado de su desarrollo social, econ6mico o cient/fico.

A este respecto, mi delegaci6n respalda el establecimiento de 6rgano subsidiario creado recientemente en la Conferencia de Desarme que se abocarÿ espedficamente al tema prevenci6n

de la carrera armamentista en el espacio ultraterrestre y del Grupo de Expertos Gubernamentales establecido por la Asamblea General mediante a resoluci6n 72/250. Esperamos sinceramente que estos mecanismos de diÿlogo produzcan resultados concretos en este tema al que mi pals asigna una alta prioridad.

Chile cree que medidas de transparencia y fomento de la confianza en las actividades en el espacio ultraterrestre, que serÿ objeto de nuestras deliberaciones, deben ser un complemento, en un esfuerzo colectivo tendiente a una evoluci6n normativa necesaria en el ÿmbito del espacio ultraterrestre, incluido, un instrumento jurfdicamente vinculante para prevenir una carrera de armamentos en el espacio ultraterrestre. Sra. Presidenta, La Comisi6n de Desarme, a pesar de haber conseguido, luego de largos afios generar recomendaciones en su ultimo ciclo, no ha escapado en general, a la crisis que enfrenta la maquinaria de desarme que, operando bajo la mÿs extrema versi6n de la regla del consenso, ha doblado el sentido y alcance que esta herramienta tiene, y tuvo por mucho tiempo, como generadora del dialogo y promotora de amplios acuerdos. Fomentar un atm6sfera de confianza y mayor transparencia, resulta prioritario para alcanzar nuestro objetivo, por ello quisiÿramos terminar haciendo un Ilamado a todas las delegaciones a asumir un enfoque pragmÿtico y conducirse con la mÿxima flexibilidad al inicio de este nuevo ciclo, para repetir el ÿxito Iogrado el afio pasado y obtener resultados concretos. Para ello Sra. Presidenta, desde ya puede contar con el compromiso y cooperaci6n de nuestra delegaci6n.

Muchas gracias