Opening Remarks by H.E. Mr. Tsuneo Nishida
Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations
At the Seminar “Promoting the Global Instruments of Nonproliferation and Disarmament:

the United Nations and the Nuclear Challenge,”

organized by the Permanent Missions of Japan, Poland, and Turkey to the UN,

in cooperation with the Stimson Center
31 May 2011

Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentleman,

It gives me great pleasure to host this event with Ambassador Sobków of Poland and Ambassador Apakan of Turkey, in close cooperation with the Stimson Center, led by Ms. Ellen Laipson.

We decided to organize this event as we felt it was vital for all Member States and our colleagues here in New York to share the sense of the critical importance of the issue of non-proliferation and disarmament, and especially of the implementation of key Security Council resolutions in this field.

The international community has made great progress in this area, but efforts must be continued with participation from all Member States. Many Member States faces various challenges when it comes to fully implementing key important resolutions in the area of non-proliferation and disarmament.  All of us have the significant and pressing task of promoting the regime of sanctions adopted by United Nations Security Council resolutions and also to support those who are trying to achieve such goals.  We three decided it would be valuable to create an opportunity to discuss wide-ranging ideas for how Member States, the UN Secretariat, and international organizations as well as scholars and members of the private sector can better cooperate to fulfill this objective.

One of the key elements of today’s gathering is its interactive and informal setting, which we hope will allow for candid exchanges of views among all the participants present.  Thanks to the support of the Stimson Center, we have here today a group of distinguished and esteemed thinkers in this field, including Mr. George Perkovich from the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.

We have also worked very closely with the Secretariat of the United Nations to make this event possible. Friends from the UN Office of Disarmament Affairs have given us valuable advice for today’s event. The Department of Political Affairs was also supportive of this event, enabling active participation from the members of the panels of the three key Committees.  On behalf of all the co-organizers, I would like to express our gratitude for all their support.

The threat of proliferation is real and the objective of achieving a world free of nuclear weapons is critically important.  We have seen a number of other key developments, including, of course, the successful conclusion of the NPT Review Conference which took place last year here in New York.  Many international, bilateral and multilateral efforts are being made in the area of non-proliferation and disarmament. Japan has also made contributions, including the convening of the Foreign Ministerial Meeting of the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Initiative (NPDI) last September during the General Assembly.

However, despite all the efforts of the UN and the international community in the last decade or two, the threat of non-proliferation still persists.  We have been seeing a number of cases of violations of key sanctions resolutions and many increasing challenges related to securing the safety of each region and the world.

It is therefore especially important and useful for us to have the opportunity to gather in an informal setting and freely exchange views amongst ourselves.  With the participation of all the leading experts in the field, we will be able not only to come up with fresh ideas, but also to see how existing institutions and areas of cooperation can be enhanced.  While Geneva has a long history and tradition of its work on disarmament and non-proliferation, I believe it can also be done here in New York. I hope that at the end of this day-long discussion, we will be able to share some concrete ideas for the way forward.

Thank you for your attention.