Statment by the Permanent Representative of Argentina to the United Nations, Ambassador Martín García Moritán

April 4, 2016

 

Mr. Chair,

Allow me first of all to convey my Delegation's congratulations on your election to chair the work of this Commission, and congratulate as well the other members of the Bureau.
The opportunity is also conducive to thank the Permanent Representative of Senegal, Amb. Fodé Seck, for his performance during the last session, who laid the foundations of this cycle of the Commission.

I would also like to thank the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, Mr. Kim, as well as the work and dedication of his entire team.

Mr. Chair,

The Argentine Delegation fully associates itself with the speech delivered by the Dominican Republic, on behalf of the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States (CELAC). Notwithstanding,  my Delegation wishes to provide some elements for the deliberations that concern us.

Mr. Chair,

At a time when we have progressed in defining the post 2015 sustainable development goals, we cannot and should not ignore the work we have ahead on disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control.

The Disarmament Commission has not been unaware of the crisis in the disarmament machinery.  However, the deliberative nature of it, makes this the space from where dialogue can help us leave the stagnation that takes more than a decade.

In this regard, we wish to emphasize the value of dialogue within this Commission, beyond the progress it can make in this second year of the three-year cycle, for consideration of the agenda items.

Hence, the relevance and timeliness of the two issues under consideration by this Commission.  Through the frank dialogue that this deliberative forum proposes, we must be able to identify measures that will allow us to advance in nuclear disarmament and to create confidence in the objectives of transparency, cooperation and peace that all of us are encouraged by.

For Argentina, the Disarmament Commission is a forum of interest to maintain and reactivate as much as possible. In this context, we call on all Delegations to join forces and adopt a pragmatic approach in order to have a fruitful session of this Commission.
For this, you can count, Mr. Chair, with the full cooperation of the Argentine Delegation.

Thank you