DYB2011-Part-II-web

United Nations Disarmament Yearbook 2011: Part II
124
to make the Commission operational by establishing a bureau comprising
the Chairperson, the Vice-Chairperson and the Executive Secretary; adopting
rules of procedure; defining the statute and structure of the Commission;
developing a programme of work; and deciding on a scale of assessments
for the Commission’s budget. The meeting also provided the opportunity to
discuss the modalities for assisting member States towards compliance with
their treaty obligations.
Important developments took place in 2011 with regard to the status
of the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ). During the
annual conference of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN)
foreign ministers, held in Bali from 16 to 23 July, a working group on the
SEANWFZ called for a meeting between ASEAN arms control specialists
and representatives of the five nuclear-weapon States (NWS) with a view to
finding a solution to the long-standing stalemate between the two sides over
the Protocol of the SEANWFZ Treaty. 13
For the first time in nearly 10 years, from 8 to 12 August, the
representatives of China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom
and the United States met with ASEAN officials to discuss the ratification of
the Protocol to the SEANWFZ Treaty by the five NWS. They were able to
report substantive progress during the 19th ASEAN Summit on 17 November,
enabling ASEAN and the five NWS to focus their subsequent attention on
negotiating the remaining procedural issues.
On 18 November, the 3rd ASEAN–United States Leaders’ Meeting, also
held in Bali, welcomed the successful conclusion of negotiations and agreed
to take the necessary steps to facilitate the signing of the Protocol and its entry
into force at the earliest opportunity. The agreement will ultimately provide
for assurances of non-interference by the NWS, as well as negative security
assurances.
Three documents emerged at the end of the negotiations between
the NWS and ASEAN: (a) a protocol to the Treaty that the NWS agreed to
sign; (b) a memorandum of understanding between ASEAN and China; and
(c) a statement from ASEAN on the relationship between the Treaty and its
Protocol. ASEAN will release that statement when the Treaty’s Protocol and
the memorandum of understanding with China are ratified. The agreement is
considered non-binding until the NWS have signed the Treaty’s Protocol.
Progress was also made towards the holding of a regional conference
in 2012 on the establishment of a zone in the Middle East free of nuclear
weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction. The decision to convene
a conference in 2012 had been taken by the 2010 NPT Review Conference. In
13 The Treaty is also known as the Bangkok Treaty. The text and adherence status are
available from http://disarmament.un.org/treaties/.