Foreign Relations of the United States, 1969–1976, Volume E–14, Part 2, Documents on Arms Control and Nonproliferation, 1973–1976

41. Statement by the United States Representative to the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament (Martin)¹

Geneva, April 16, 1974.²

Mr. Chairman, before I make my formal statement I should like to express my personal satisfaction at being back in Geneva with my old friends on the Committee. I am saddened, however, by the loss of Ambassador Čvorović of Yugoslavia, who was a great personal friend of mine and an esteemed colleague. I wish to extend the condolences of my delegation to his family and to the delegation of Yugoslavia.

On a happier note, I should like to extend my personal welcome and that of my delegation to Madame Thorsson, Under-Secretary of State in the Government of Sweden: to Mr. Bier of Brazil; Ambassador Nikolov of Bulgaria; Ambassador El-Erian of Egypt; Mr. Fantaye Biftu of Ethiopia; Ambassador Mishra of India, and Ambassador Clark of Nigeria. The appointment of such distinguished representatives to this Committee testifies once again to the importance of the work of the Conference on the Committee of Disarmament. I wish each of them success in their efforts and look forward to working with them.

It is also a great pleasure to greet once again the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Ambassador Pastinen, who has been of so much help in facilitating the Committee’s work.

We are also glad to welcome back the Alternate Representative of the Secretary-General, Mr. Björnerstedt, and look forward to renewed association with him.

Finally, I would like to extend my greetings, and that of my delegation, to Mrs. Gill and the members of the Secretariat, who have been so helpful to us all.

The Conference of the Committee on Disarmament (CCD) resumes its discussions at a time when the initiatives taken in the past two years for peaceful settlement of outstanding international problems have confirmed by their progress that we are entering “an era of negotiation.”

One encouraging sign is the negotiating process now under way at the mutual force reduction talks in Vienna, involving many of the countries present here in the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament. All of us realize how complex it is to negotiate equitable reductions in troop levels in central Europe. Therefore none of us expected that the countries participating in those talks could have reached easy and early agreement on reductions which would be balanced so as not to diminish the security of either side. Yet the talks have proceeded in a constructive and serious fashion, and the proposals put forward by each side have been subjected to the thorough examination that takes place when both sides wish to achieve success. We in the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament have every reason to hope that the negotiators in Vienna will reach an agreement on a reduction of troop levels in Europe.

The Strategic Arms Limitation Talks (SALT) between my country and the Soviet Union continue in an effort to place additional controls on strategic offensive weapons systems and eventually to reduce the number of these systems deployed by ourselves and the Soviet Union. The Standing Consultative Commission on SALT, established by the United States-USSR Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty,³ has also begun to meet to promote the objectives and implementation of that Agreement and of the Interim Agreement on Certain Measures with Respect to the Limitation of Strategic Offensive Arms.⁴ This Commission is a reflection of the importance of the initial SALT agreements, and of the strong desire of the parties to implement effectively those agreements.

The Conference on Security and Co-operation in Europe (CSCE) has met here in Geneva for several months. Although not directly concerned with arms control and disarmament, it could contribute to relaxing tensions and enhancing security in Europe by building further confidence between nations. Equally important, the CSCE could make a contribution towards increased cooperation in Europe by adopting effective agreements in the fields of economics, science and technology, and the environment. It could also assist by agreements to increase human contacts, exchanges of information and cultural and educational cooperation.

All of these negotiations owe something to the pioneering efforts of this Committee, which set an example as a serious, effective multilateral group dealing in a sustained way with the important issues that bear upon the security of all States. The accomplishments of this Committee, which show that effective international agreements require patience, perseverance, thorough exploration of the issues and a determination to attain lasting solutions, have provided a model for these other forums. We expect that negotiations in these forums will in turn contribute to an atmosphere for further progress in this Committee.

In an area of particular interest to this Committee, nuclear non-proliferation, there have been several important developments since we last gathered here. During the last General Assembly session, the United Nations Members party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT)⁵ established a Preparatory Committee to make arrangements for the NPT Review Conference. The Preparatory Committee, which has just completed its first meeting, has proposed that the Review Conference convene on 5 May 1975. We look forward to working with other parties to the NPT to make the remaining preparatory meetings, now scheduled for next August and for February 1975, and the Review Conference itself, a success.

Following on last year’s conclusion of an IAEA–EURATOM Safeguards Agreement,⁶ the Federal Republic of Germany has completed the parliamentary procedures for its ratification of the NPT. In addition a member of this Committee, Japan, has indicated that it will initiate parliamentary procedures leading toward ratification of the NPT. We of course hope that other countries will also adhere to this major arms control agreement in time to participate in the 1975 Review Conference, which may influence the course of non-proliferation and peaceful uses of nuclear energy for some years ahead. We are also pleased to note that both Sudan and Gabon have adhered to the NPT in recent months. Both States, by virtue of their adherence to the Treaty and their representation on the IAEA Board of Governors, are now members of the NPT Preparatory Committee.

I should now like to turn to some of the important tasks currently before this Committee. In regard to the Committee’s work on chemical weapons (CW), delegations will recall that in our last session my delegation discussed some of the problems and considerations we believe should be taken into account by the Committee. We look forward this session to hearing the views of other delegations on our statements and on other issues involved.

We remain firmly committed to the objective of achieving effective international restraints on chemical weapons. It will be recalled that in August 1973 I told the Committee that my delegation had not submitted a specific CW treaty proposal because we had not been able to find any approach which we could be confident would resolve the difficulties surrounding this subject. My Government has continued its studies of all the issues related to possible restraints on CW, has carefully studied the statements and working papers submitted by various delegations in our last session, and is determined to continue its efforts in this area.

We understand and share the desire of the Committee to make rapid progress in controlling chemical weapons; but we continue to believe that genuine progress can only be made by a careful study of all the complex problems inherent in such control. During this session we hope that other delegations will join us in further examination of possibilities for achieving adequately verified prohibitions on CW.

We also remain fully committed to the objective of a Comprehensive Test Ban with adequate verification, which we continue to believe would require some on-site inspection. We intend to continue discussion of test-ban issues during the 1974 session.

Since the Committee last met, we have continued our research programme on the problems of detecting and identifying underground explosions by seismic means. In particular, the major elements of the research programme described to the Committee last July⁷ are being actively pursued. Eight sites have now been selected for the installation of our new Seismic Research Observatories. International interest in our seismic data management system and in the new arrangements for the prompt exchange of seismic data has been most encouraging. A new large-aperture seismic array is now being installed in Iran. Finally, we have continued our studies on the utility of Unmanned Seismic Observatories.

As we consider the talks ahead we should, I think, be mindful of the Committee’s responsibility to engage in a serious and constructive examination of a wide range of multilateral arms-control issues with a view to reaching agreements that promote international peace and security. In this regard I should like to call the Committee’s attention to the desirability of considering the question of effective restraints on conventional weapons. We are all aware that these weapons account for the largest part of the world’s military spending—which this year is in excess of $216 billion—that there is a rapid proliferation of numbers and types of these weapons, and that their use has accounted for an enormous casualty toll in conflicts since the second world war.

A group of experts appointed by the Secretary-General is today beginning a technical study here in Geneva of military budgets. This summer the International Committee of the Red Cross hopes to convene a group of government experts to study the question of prohibition or restriction of the use of conventional weapons which may cause unnecessary suffering or have indiscriminate effects.

These developments demonstrate the growing interest in possible restraints on conventional weapons. My delegation therefore believes it is timely to begin to study seriously the question of restraints on conventional weapons in the Conference of the Committee on Disarmament. In the past my delegation has submitted for the consideration of the Committee a number of principles and guidelines related to restraints on conventional weapons. We would welcome the comments and views of others on this subject. Further consideration by the Committee could eventually result in effective controls over these weapons to the general benefit.

1. Summary: Martin reviewed the status of ongoing negotiations, including MBFR and SALT, noted collaborative efforts in the area of nuclear nonproliferation, and stated the U.S. position on chemical weapons and a comprehensive test ban.

   Source: Documents on Disarmament, 1974, pp. 80–84. The 25th session of the CCD resumed in Geneva on April 16 and concluded on May 23.

2. CCD/PV 627, pp. 17–21. [Footnote is in the original.]
3. Documents on Disarmament, 1972, pp. 197–201. [Footnote is in the original.]
4. Ibid., pp. 202 ff. [Footnote is in the original.]
5. Ibid., 1968, pp. 461–465. [Footnote is in the original.]
6. Ibid., 1973, pp. 116–158. [Footnote is in the original.]
7. Ibid., pp. 376–402. [Footnote is in the original.]