January 22, 2001 (11:45 a.m. EST) No. 9

CANADA TO CHAIR CONFERENCE ON DISARMAMENT

John Manley, Minister of Foreign Affairs, today announced that Canada will preside over the initial session of the 2001 Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. Canada's Ambassador for Disarmament, Christopher Westdal, will chair the Conference from January 22 until Canada relinquishes its presidency to Chile on February 18.

"The Conference on Disarmament is a vital institution for multilateral co-operation on non-proliferation and disarmament," said Minister Manley. "The promotion of global peace and security is a central element in Canadian foreign policy, and we are pleased to take on the responsibility of chairing the Conference at this critical juncture in disarmament affairs."

The Conference on Disarmament is the world's sole multilateral negotiating forum for disarmament issues, with a scope that includes both conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction. The Conference or its predecessors conceived most of the key multilateral disarmament agreements, including the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention (BTWC), the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) and, most recently, the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Despite its past successes, the Conference on Disarmament is currently deadlocked due to conflicting priorities among member states. With disarmament progress slowing, Canada will spare no effort as chair to bridge the current divide between members. Canada last chaired the Conference in 1993.

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