Canada's statement to the Conference on Disarmament

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Geneva, Switzerland, September 4, 2024

Delivered by H.E. Mr. Peter MacDougall, Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Canada to the Office of the United Nations and to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva

Thank you, Mr. President, and good afternoon to everyone.

I am honoured to be here today, delivering my first statement to the Conference on Disarmament as Canada’s Permanent Representative in Geneva.

I walk in the footsteps of my immediate and more distant predecessors, who contributed to this body to advance the global causes of disarmament, arms control, and non-proliferation. Carrying this mantle includes advancing the work of Ambassador Gerald Shannon on a treaty on fissile material for use in nuclear weapons, championing the Canadian legacy of humanitarian instruments like the Ottawa Treaty, and continuing Ambassador Norton’s advocacy for the inclusion of women not only in the CD Rules of Procedure but also at the negotiating table.

The multilateral disarmament architecture is under stress, dialogue between the world’s nuclear powers is stalemated, and conventional wars are protracted across the globe. It is the combination of these factors, following the global COVID pandemic and the looming existential threat of climate change, that makes it imperative for the CD to fulfill its mandate. I look forward to working with you collaboratively to make this forum fit for purpose, effective, and as transformative as it was once envisioned.

As a newcomer, I am glad to see that there is some cause for optimism. Despite the tense geo-political environment, the P6+2 managed to work together and with the broader disarmament community agreed to what will hopefully be one of many multi-annual work plans for the CD. I congratulate all of you for your hard work and hope that we can all agree quickly on a consensus report and CD resolution this year. More importantly, I hope that subsidiary bodies will commence substantive work next year and negotiate new disarmament instruments.

While it may not be possible to negotiate immediately treaties on all CD agenda items, a balanced approach could include the commencement of negotiations on fissile materials used for nuclear weapons and on negative security assurances. Other potential topics are radiological weapons and perhaps PAROS, building on the recently adopted consensus report of the GGE. In any case, I hope that we can build on the momentum created this year by doing what we are mandated to do next year – negotiate disarmament instruments.

Thank you for welcoming me into this community with open arms, and I look forward to working closely with you all over the coming years.

Thank you, Mr. President.