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<title>CANADA TO CHAIR NEGOTIATIONS ON A TREATY TO BAN THE PRODUCTION OF FISSILE MATERIAL FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS </title>
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<p><font face="Courier"></font><font face="Univers" size="+2"></font><font face="Univers" size="+2">August 20, 1998 No. 196</font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Univers" size="+2">CANADA TO CHAIR NEGOTIATIONS ON A TREATY </font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Univers" size="+2">TO BAN THE PRODUCTION OF FISSILE MATERIAL </font></p>
<p align="CENTER"><font face="Univers" size="+2">FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS </font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Foreign Affairs Minister Lloyd Axworthy welcomed today the appointment of
Ambassador Mark Moher, Canada's Permanent Representative to the United Nations for
Disarmament, as Chairman of the negotiating committee. On August 11, 60 countries
at the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament agreed to begin negotiations on an
international treaty, also known as a Fissile Material Cut-Off Treaty (FMCT).</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">"Canada has been a long-standing advocate of a ban on the production of fissile
material for nuclear weapons and other explosive devices," said Minister Axworthy.
"We have an urgent, complex and demanding task before us. I am confident that
Ambassador Moher's expertise will contribute to helping the committee lay down the
vital foundation on which we can build this treaty."</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">The Minister reaffirmed Canada's strong commitment to the Treaty on the
Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). "A treaty to ban fissile material
production is an important instrument in strengthening the international
non-proliferation regime," said Mr. Axworthy. "Its successful negotiation and
implementation, however, would not replace the commitments to nuclear
non-proliferation and disarmament that stem from the</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">NPT."</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Ambassador Moher was named Permanent Representative and Ambassador to the United
Nations for Disarmament in 1995. His extensive experience in the area of nuclear
non-proliferation and disarmament includes assignments in the Department of
Foreign Affairs and International Trade as Director General of the International
Security Policy and Arms Control Bureau, and Director of the Nuclear Division.</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">The Conference on Disarmament, of which Canada was a founding member, was
established in 1979 to succeed previous bodies as the global multilateral forum
for consideration and negotiation of arms control and disarmament issues. It has
successfully negotiated a number of international agreements, including the
Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use
of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction (CWC) and, most recently, the
Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).</font></p>
<p><font face="Times New Roman"></font><font face="Courier">- 30 -</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">For further information, media representatives may contact:</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Debora Brown</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">(613) 995-1851</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Media Relations Office</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">(613) 995-1874</font></p>
<p><font face="Courier">This document is also available on the Department's Internet site:
http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca</font></p>
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