Geneva, 23 January 2024 (TDI): The US has shown active participation in the Conference on Disarmament 2024. The conference spans three sessions: The first runs from January 22 to March 28, the second from May 13 to June 28, and the third from July 29 to September 13. This conference aims to address multilateral arms limitation and disarmament agreements hosted in Geneva, Switzerland.
There are a total of 65 members in this conference. To name a few; Australia, Bulgaria, China, Republic of Korea, France, Pakistan, Iran, United States, UK, Israel, Iraq, and Egypt.
U.S. Ambassador Bruce Turner issued a statement, stressing the Conference on Disarmament as a key platform for the United States’ revitalization efforts in disarmament work. He further added, “He appreciates sitting down with Le Temps to share the American vision for making that a reality.”
The agenda of the conference contains key elements:
- Ending of the nuclear arms race and nuclear disarmament
- Prevention of nuclear war; in outer space.
- Effective international arrangements to assure non-nuclear-weapon states against use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.
- Comprehensive program of disarmament.
- Transparency in Armaments.
Also Read: High-level representatives discuss disarmament at UN Conference
The US Permanent Representative to the Conference on Disarmament Bruce Turner highlighted that the conference experienced turbulent times in 2022 and 2023, but is still essential. He reiterated that to achieve an NPT goal of a world free of nuclear weapons can only be achieved through negotiations between the nuclear powers.
Moreover, the Permanent Representative claimed that the US is open with China for bilateral dialogues in Washington and Beijing and also in Geneva. However, terms differ with Russia amid its war on Ukraine.
Furthermore, the Conference on Disarmament is also affected by global geopolitical upheaval. In addition, the current countries are not satisfied with the global order, said Ambassador Turner.
The five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) used to meet at the Conference on Disarmament previously, however, that is not the case as of now.
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