Discurul secretarului de stat, Gheorghe Leucă, în cadrul segmentului de nivel înalt al Conferinței pentru Dezarmare

Publicat:Wed, 24/02/2021 - 15:03

Mr. President,

Excellencies,

Distinguished delegates,

At the outset, I would like to congratulate H.E. Mr. Gonçalo De Barros Carvalho e Mello Mourão, Ambassador of Brazil, on assuming the Presidency of the Conference on Disarmament. I wish you every success in leading the work of this body towards the expected outcome. I would also like to thank the members of the Conference for accepting our request for participation in its work as a non-member country during this year.

The Covid-19 pandemic has affected many areas of our lives and had a huge toll on the public health and socio-economic well-being of all our countries. At the same time, this unprecedented crisis highlighted the importance of strengthening cooperation, flexibility and coordinated responses. It also had an impact on the activity of many international fora, including the Conference on Disarmament, which we will have to overcome together. And so, in this context of an increased call for cooperation, of an effective multilateralism, mutual support and cohesion, I am pleased to address you today at the Disarmament Conference.

My country is firmly committed to preserving effective treaty-based international arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation as key elements of security all over the globe. Disarmament and the work carried on within the Conference on Disarmament, which remains the world’s single multilateral negotiating body in this field, is of special importance for the Republic of Moldova.

We understand and feel on our own “skin”, if I may say so, the need and urgency of going beyond never-ending challenges, focusing on technical work when we deal with disarmament. Having more than 20 000 tons of ammunition stockpiles from Soviet times on our territory, but outside the control of the Moldovan Constitutional authorities, is a major concern. The risks are high, not only at local level, but regional as well. It is a clear example when we have a common need – to start practical work, resuming processes of destruction and withdrawal, reducing and avoiding delays caused by protracted procedural debates.

The ratification of the Arms Trade Treaty by the Republic of Moldova attests my country's commitment to support international efforts in strengthening peace and security at the global and regional level.

At the same time, we must reiterate, that there is a strong expressed believe by the Republic of Moldova that this Treaty should not only ensure the transparency and accountability in transfers of conventional weapons by itself, but it should also help preventing illicit trafficking of such arms, particularly to separatist unrecognized entities. This is of vital importance to my country and, especially, in the current regional security context.

The Republic of Moldova will further contribute to the accomplishment of the objectives of the Convention of Cluster Munitions (CCM) and will support the efforts of the States Parties and international partners directed to strengthen the implementation of its provisions in all their aspects. In particular, supporting the humanitarian goal of the convention, we advocate for the sustainable assistance to the victims of cluster munitions.

Another key priority and goal that we share is the one of having a peaceful and safe world without nuclear weapons. In this regard, the Nuclear Non – Proliferation Treaty (NPT) lays the foundation for these principles and we are hoping for a successful outcome of its tenth Review Conference.

Moreover, we recognize the importance of the agreement reached between the United States and the Russian Federation to extend the New START Treaty for five years, considering this treaty crucial for the European and international security and an important contribution to confidence-building, transparency and risk reduction.

In the same vein, we firmly believe that the proliferation of the use of chemical and biological weapons, including the use of any toxic chemicals as weapons, by state or nonstate actors, is unacceptable.

The issue of effectively ensuring the participation of women in decision–making process related to disarmament, peace and security requires our common efforts, as stated in the UNSCR Resolution 1325 and we call upon all members and non – members to fully engage in promoting its principles.

Mr. President,

To conclude, I would like to underscore that the Republic of Moldova fully shares the values of the Conference on Disarmament and its goals in creating a world free of nuclear weapons, and we have thus aligned with the EU Opening Statement back in January. We strongly believe in the principle of conflict prevention and to succeed in this we need political will, continuous cooperation and mutual trust. My country has always pleaded for an enlargement of the Conference on Disarmament, which we think would contribute to further spreading and strengthening its values.

Thank you.

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