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Conference on Disarmament (CD)

Summary:

The CD was formed in 1979 as the single multilateral negotiating body of the international community devoted to disarmament. The CD has a special relationship with the United Nations. The CD reports to the UN General Assembly and is funded by the UN budget, but it adopts its own rules of procedure and its own agenda, taking into account the recommendations made by the General Assembly and the proposals presented by its members.

The CD and its predecessors have negotiated such multilateral arms control, nonproliferation, and disarmament agreements as the Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT), Environmental Modification (ENMOD) Treaty, Seabed Arms Control Treaty, Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty (CTBT). The Conference conducts its work by consensus. Since the conclusion of the negotiation of the CTBT in August 1996, the CD been deadlock deadlocked, with the exception of 1998, the Conference has not reach consensus on its program of work. The principal problems include the disagreement between China and United States on the linkages between deliberations over a fissile material cut-off treaty (FMCT) and proposed space weapons treaty (PAROS.)

For more in-depth information, please consult the Inventory of Nonproliferation Organizations and Regimes, which can be found on the CNS website at: http://cns.miis.edu/pubs/index.htm

China and the CD:

China is a member of the CD, and officially joined in November 1980. China appointed an Ambassador for Disarmament in 1983. China does not belong to any of the groupings within the CD (i.e. Western Group, Eastern European Group, and Group of 21), but acts alone. In its November 1995 white paper on arms control and disarmament, China stated its support for multilateral arms control negotiations such as those carried out in the CD, saying that it:

"stresses and supports the conclusion of arms control and disarmament agreements and treaties through negotiation. Beginning in 1980, it has formally joined in the work of the Geneva Conference on Disarmament and has actively promoted negotiations on a wide variety of disarmament issues and the conclusion of relevant conventions." ["China: Arms Control And Disarmament," Information Office of the State Council of the Peoples Republic of China, November 1995.]

In a speech to the Conference on Disarmament on 2 September 1999, China's Ambassador for Disarmament Affairs, Li Changhe, highlighted the importance that Chinese diplomats place on the CD as a negotiating forum. He stated that the CD is irreplaceable in its role as a disarmament negotiating body and that "even though it has not been able to get down to treaty negotiations for the time being, the conference can still function as an important forum where dialogue can be conducted on major issues of international peace and security, and on some specific disarmament items." ["PRC Disarmament Ambassador Sees Key Role for Conference." Xinhua. 2 September 1999 in FBIS FTS19990902000409. 2 September 1999.]

In August of 2003, China dropped its long-standing insistence on the drafting of a treaty on the development of outer-space based weapons, which had been stumbling block to negotiations within the CD.  The U.S. refused for several years to support negotiations for limiting weapons in outer space, at least in part because of its consideration of a space-based missile defense component.  Although observers hoped that the move by China would end the CD deadlock, on 10 September 2003 the CD concluded with no further development in negotiations; the Conference will convene again in January of 2004.  [Wade Boese, "Chinese Concession Fails to End UN Disarmament Conference's Stalemate," Arms Control Today, 16 October 2003]

[LINK TO CD WEBSITE]

Below is a partial listing of China's CD statements and papers.

Chinese statements to the CD:

• [Chinese statement to the Conference on Disarmament, 6 March, 2003.]
• [Chinese statement to the Conference on Disarmament regarding anti-personnel landmines (APLs), 26 June 1997.]
• [Chinese statement to the Conference on Disarmament, 1 August 1996.]
• [Chinese statement to the Conference on Disarmament, 13 June 1996.]
• [Chinese statement to the Conference on Disarmament, 6 June 1996.]
• [Chinese statement to the Conference on Disarmament, 28 March 1996.]
• [Chinese statement to the Conference on Disarmament, 8 February 1996.]
• [Chinese statement to the Conference on Disarmament, 17 August 1995.]
• [Chinese statement to the Conference on Disarmament, 8 June 1995.]
• [Chinese statement to the Conference on Disarmament, 6 April 1995.]
• [China's National Statement on Security Assurances, 5 April 1995.]
• [Chinese statement on "Security Assurances for States Parties" in Working Group II of the Nuclear Test Ban (NTB) Ad Hoc Committee, 9 March 1995.]
• [Chinese statement on "Peaceful Use of Nuclear Energy and Peaceful Nuclear Explosion" at Working Group II of the NTB Ad Hoc Committee, 9 March 1995.]
• [Chinese statement to the Conference on Disarmament, 2 February 1995.]

Chinese papers submitted to the CD:

• [Chinese working paper on chemical weapons to the Conference on Disarmament, 18 February 1992.]
• [Chinese working paper on the prohibition regime of the future convention banning chemical weapons, to the Ad Hoc Working Group on Chemical Weapons at the Conference on Disarmament, 21 April 1983.]
• ["On Effective International Arrangements to Assure Non-Nuclear-Weapon States against the Use or Threat of Use of Nuclear Weapons," Chinese working paper to the Conference on Disarmament, 16 April 1982.]
• ["On the Question of Security Assurances," Chinese working paper to the Conference on Disarmament, 6 August 1981.]
• [Chinese working paper on the definition of chemical warfare agents, 27 March 1981.]
• [Chinese working paper on proposals on the main contents of a Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, 18 June 1980.]

For information on other UN arms control and nonproliferation-related committees in which China has participated, see:

[CHINA AND THE UN FIRST COMMITTEE (UNFC)]

[CHINA AND THE UN DISARMAMENT COMMISSION (UNDC)]

[CHINA AND THE INTERNATIONAL ATOMIC ENERGY AGENCY (IAEA)]

[CHINA AND THE UN SPECIAL COMMISSION ON IRAQ (UNSCOM)]

[CHINA AND THE UN REGISTER OF CONVENTIONAL ARMS (UNROCA)]

Updated 11/04/2003

This material is produced independently for NTI by the James Martin Center for Nonproliferation Studies at the Monterey Institute of International Studies and does not necessarily reflect the opinions of and has not been independently verified by NTI or its directors, officers, employees, agents. Copyright © 2007 by MIIS.

 

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