Statement by Md. Rafiqul Alam Molla, Counsellor of Permanent Mission of Bangladesh to the UN on Thematic Debate: “Disarmament Machinery”, First Committee 77th Session United Nations General, 27 October 2022

Mr. Chair,

Bangladesh aligns itself with the statement delivered by Indonesia on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). We wish to add the following remarks in our national capacity.

Bangladesh remains an ardent proponent of multilateralism in the pursuit of general and complete disarmament. The complex security challenges in today’s world left no alternative to multilateralism. Enhancing the effectiveness of UN disarmament machinery is a shared objective.

We reiterate our support for the three mutually reinforcing fora of disarmament machinery – the UN General Assembly First Committee, the Conference on Disarmament and the UN Disarmament Commission. The international community bears a collective responsibility to respect their integrity and ensure that these fora remain relevant and reach results in line with their agreed mandates.

We are grateful for the continued support of the UN Secretary-General and the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs in this regard.

 

Mr. Chair,

We are deeply concerned over the erosion of the rules-based multilateral system in the field of disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control. Bangladesh feels that the key problem is the lack of political will by some countries to achieve progress, especially on nuclear disarmament.

We share our profound frustration and concerns, like many other delegations, over the prolonged state of paralysis of the Conference on Disarmament (CD) as the sole multilateral disarmament negotiating body.  We deeply regret that the CD has not been able to reach a consensus on a programme of work for more than 25 years.  The protracted deadlock in the CD reflects lack of political will of the States.

Bangladesh calls upon Member States to show their utmost flexibility and genuine political will to agree on a balanced and comprehensive programme of work, so that the CD can deliver on its mandate to negotiate multilateral disarmament instruments. We hope to see more creative and constructive engagement to address this situation without any delay.

Mr. Chair,

We attach great importance to the work of the UN Disarmament Commission (UNDC) as the sole deliberative body, with universal membership, to build and foster consensus on critical issues concerning general and complete disarmament. Bangladesh reiterates its call to UN Member States to enable the Commission to advance the discussions on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation and outer space.

Bangladesh welcomes the convening of the substantive session of the UNDC on 4-21 April 2022 and underscores its full support for the UNDC’s work. We look forward to the 2023 Session of the UNDC with the hope that the UNDC fulfills its mandate. In this regard, we must redouble our efforts in order to achieve meaningful outcomes to advance global disarmament and non-proliferation regime.

Mr. Chair,

Bangladesh considers that the work of the First Committee should focus on non-proliferation and disarmament. It is, therefore, required to review the working methods and streamline the work of the First Committee to make it more efficient and fit for purpose by reducing duplication and overlapping.

We highly appreciate the work of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and commend the institute for their high-quality independent research and timely discussions on issues within the field of disarmament. The current geo-political environment requires such innovative perspectives and enhanced dialogues that can respond to our collective security concerns. We stress the need for ensuring enhanced and predictable resources for the Institute to deliver on its mandates.

We also recognize the useful learning resources developed by the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs (UNODA).

Finally, Mr. Chair, we reaffirm our support for convening the Fourth Special Session of the General Assembly devoted to Disarmament (SSOD-IV) at an early date. We believe it would give Member States a new opportunity to demonstrate their collective will to reinvigorate overall disarmament machinery.

I thank you.