Mr. Chairman,

India associates itself with the statement made by Indonesia on behalf of NAM during this thematic debate.

India has the honour to introduce the draft decision L.22 which proposes the inclusion of the item entitled “Role of science and technology in the context of international security and disarmament” in the provisional agenda for the sixty-ninth General Assembly.

Mr. Chairman,

It is clear that scientific and technological progress is critical for any society for economic and social development and needs to be maintained and encouraged. The developing countries are especially dependent on access to scientific developments and new technologies for developmental purposes and for active participation in global trade. We therefore believe that international cooperation in peaceful uses of science and technology should be promoted through all means, including technology transfer, sharing of information and exchange of equipment and materials.

At the same time, we recognize that scientific and technological developments can have both civilian and military applications. The military applications of scientific and technological developments can contribute significantly to the improvement and upgrading of weapons systems, including WMDs, as well to inventing entirely new weapon systems. For instance, the international community has expressed concerns about the misuse of information and communications technologies for criminal or hostile purposes as well as the development of Lethal Autonomous Robots. We believe that there is a need to closely follow scientific and technological developments that may have a negative impact on the security environment and disarmament, particularly when they give rise to proliferation concerns.

While progress in science and technology for civilian applications needs to be encouraged, it is also important that international transfers of dual-use goods and technologies and high technology with military applications are effectively regulated, keeping in mind legitimate defense requirements of all States. National regulations and export controls of appropriate standards in this field should be strengthened and effectively implemented. Relevant international agreements in this field should be implemented in a manner designed to avoid hampering the economic or technological development of state parties to those agreements.

For all the above reasons, the Role of Science & Technology in the context of international security and disarmament is an important and dynamic subject that affects the interests of all states. There is thus need for dialogue among Member States to find a viable forward looking approach taking into account current trends and possible future directions. We therefore hope that as in the past years the First Committee will endorse the draft decision L.22 tabled by India.