Mr. Coordinator, Ambassador Ruddyard,

India congratulates you on assuming the role of Coordinator of Subsidiary Body 4.  My delegation will participate constructively in the work of Subsidiary Body 4 and we look forward to working under your leadership and guidance.

We thank UNIDIR & Dr. Revill for the presentation and for a broad chronological overview of the milieu of our past work in the Conference on NSAs.

The issue of Negative Security Assurances has been on the Agenda of the Conference for the last four decades. The Final document of SSOD-1 called for steps to assure non-nuclear weapons States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.

India believes that non-nuclear weapon States have a legitimate right to be assured against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.

Effective international arrangements for such assurances, however, have not fructified so far

Mr. Coordinator

Nuclear weapons pose the greatest danger to humanity and the best assurance against their use or threat of use is their complete elimination. India has been consistent in its support for global, verifiable and non-discriminatory nuclear disarmament. India strongly believes that this can be achieved in a time bound manner through a step-by-step process underwritten by a universal commitment and an agreed global and non-discriminatory multilateral framework; India’s Working Paper, presented to the Conference on Disarmament in 2007, CD/1816 precisely encapsulates this approach through a number of proposals that are undoubtedly relevant till date. One of the proposals in this paper was to undertake negotiation of a universal and legally-binding agreement on non-use of nuclear weapons against non-nuclear weapon States.

Mr. Coordinator

As part of India’s doctrine of credible minimum nuclear deterrence, India has espoused a policy of “No first Use” and non-use against non-nuclear weapon States.  We are prepared to convert these undertakings into multilateral legal arrangements.

  India’s annual resolution, on a “Convention on the Prohibition of the use of Nuclear Weapons”, tabled since 1982 in the UNGA requests the CD to commence negotiations on an international convention prohibiting the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons under any circumstances. It reflects our belief that such a multilateral, universal and legally binding agreement would generate necessary political will among States possessing nuclear weapons to engage in negotiations leading to the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

Our resolution on ‘Reducing Nuclear Danger’, tabled since 1998 in the UNGA, has drawn global attention to the hair-trigger alert of nuclear weapons carrying unacceptable risks of unintentional or accidental use of nuclear weapons, that would have catastrophic consequences for all humankind. It recognises the need for a review of nuclear doctrine and the need for steps to reduce the risk of unintentional or accidental use of nuclear weapons, including through de-alerting and de-targeting of nuclear weapons. These two resolutions manifest our shared commitment towards the common goal of nuclear disarmament.

Mr. Coordinator

India has supported resolution A/Res/76/21 in the UNGA which recommends that the Conference on Disarmament actively continue intensive negotiations with a view to reaching early agreement and concluding effective international agreements to assure the non -nuclear-weapon States against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. As part of the G-21 and the NAM, India has supported the conclusion of universal, unconditional and legally binding instrument on security assurances to non-nuclear weapons States as a matter of priority.

The discussion of Negative Security Assurances cannot be limited to the context of a single treaty or confined to nuclear weapon free zones. India maintains that the CD is the most appropriate forum for negotiating a legally binding instrument on negative security assurances and stands ready to participate in such a negotiation.

I thank you Mr. Coordinator.