August 20, 1998 No. 196

CANADA TO CHAIR NEGOTIATIONS ON A TREATY

TO BAN THE PRODUCTION OF FISSILE MATERIAL

FOR NUCLEAR WEAPONS

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).

"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."

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

NPT."

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.

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).

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For further information, media representatives may contact:

Debora Brown

Office of the Minister of Foreign Affairs

(613) 995-1851

Media Relations Office

Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade

(613) 995-1874

This document is also available on the Department's Internet site: http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca