Statement by Counsellor Mr. Ichitomo TANINAI at the 48th Session of Working Group A
2015/10/28
Thank you, Mr. Chairman,
Let me take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt appreciation to Your Excellency, Mr. Chairman, for your dedicated work as the Chair of Working Group A. I would also like to thank the Executive Secretary, Dr. Lassina Zerbo, for the comprehensive opening remarks. My thanks also go to the Chair of the Advisory Group, Sir Michael Weston, for his excellent leadership during the Forty-Fifth session of the Advisory Group.
[Promotion of the entry into force of the CTBT]
Mr. Chairman,
This year marks the 70th year after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Next year will be the 20th anniversary of the opening for signature of the CTBT. Therefore, we are at a critical juncture for reinvigorating our common efforts towards the entry into force of the Treaty.
Let me take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to the Executive Secretary for his participation in the peace memorial ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and his productive meeting with Foreign Minister H.E. Mr. Fumio Kishida in August.
Japan hosted the Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) meeting in Hiroshima in August. We welcome the Hiroshima Declaration adopted by GEM which expresses inter alia its commitment to focused efforts in a coordinated and concerted manner with the CTBT’s Article XIV co-presidents to achieve the CTBT’s entry into force.
We welcome the success of the Article XIV conference on 29 September in New York and the adoption of the Final Declaration and Measures to Promote the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Japan, together with Kazakhstan, will actively promote entry into force as co-coordinators throughout the next two years.
In this respect, let me bring to your attention a joint statement that Japan’s Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Shinzo Abe and the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan H.E. Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev signed yesterday (27 October 2015) to renew their commitment to the promotion of the entry into force of the CTBT.
Finally, on the topic of entry into force, we welcome a recent statement by Secretary of State of the United States of America, H.E. Mr. John Kerry in which he stressed that the “approval of the CTBT is a fight that we can and will win” and that he is determined to reopen and re-energize the conversation about the Treaty.
[2016-2017 Programme and Budget]
Mr. Chairman,
We appreciate the final draft of the 2016-2017 Programme and Budget proposal, including the CTBTO’s first biennial budget proposal. The multiyear funding modality is essential in order to plan long-term verification projects and is expected to facilitate the continuity of work at the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) and efficient use of resources. We support the establishment of the four proposed multi-year funds.
Regarding the budget level, Japan’s common policy toward all international organizations across the board remains the same. However, considering the critical importance of fulfilling the CTBTO’s mandate, and in light of the substantial efforts of the PTS for additional saving measures and other initiatives for efficiencies of the budget, we are ready to join the consensus on the current budget proposal.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.
Let me take this opportunity to extend our heartfelt appreciation to Your Excellency, Mr. Chairman, for your dedicated work as the Chair of Working Group A. I would also like to thank the Executive Secretary, Dr. Lassina Zerbo, for the comprehensive opening remarks. My thanks also go to the Chair of the Advisory Group, Sir Michael Weston, for his excellent leadership during the Forty-Fifth session of the Advisory Group.
[Promotion of the entry into force of the CTBT]
Mr. Chairman,
This year marks the 70th year after the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Next year will be the 20th anniversary of the opening for signature of the CTBT. Therefore, we are at a critical juncture for reinvigorating our common efforts towards the entry into force of the Treaty.
Let me take this opportunity to express our sincere appreciation to the Executive Secretary for his participation in the peace memorial ceremonies in Hiroshima and Nagasaki and his productive meeting with Foreign Minister H.E. Mr. Fumio Kishida in August.
Japan hosted the Group of Eminent Persons (GEM) meeting in Hiroshima in August. We welcome the Hiroshima Declaration adopted by GEM which expresses inter alia its commitment to focused efforts in a coordinated and concerted manner with the CTBT’s Article XIV co-presidents to achieve the CTBT’s entry into force.
We welcome the success of the Article XIV conference on 29 September in New York and the adoption of the Final Declaration and Measures to Promote the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty. Japan, together with Kazakhstan, will actively promote entry into force as co-coordinators throughout the next two years.
In this respect, let me bring to your attention a joint statement that Japan’s Prime Minister H.E. Mr. Shinzo Abe and the President of the Republic of Kazakhstan H.E. Mr. Nursultan Nazarbayev signed yesterday (27 October 2015) to renew their commitment to the promotion of the entry into force of the CTBT.
Finally, on the topic of entry into force, we welcome a recent statement by Secretary of State of the United States of America, H.E. Mr. John Kerry in which he stressed that the “approval of the CTBT is a fight that we can and will win” and that he is determined to reopen and re-energize the conversation about the Treaty.
[2016-2017 Programme and Budget]
Mr. Chairman,
We appreciate the final draft of the 2016-2017 Programme and Budget proposal, including the CTBTO’s first biennial budget proposal. The multiyear funding modality is essential in order to plan long-term verification projects and is expected to facilitate the continuity of work at the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) and efficient use of resources. We support the establishment of the four proposed multi-year funds.
Regarding the budget level, Japan’s common policy toward all international organizations across the board remains the same. However, considering the critical importance of fulfilling the CTBTO’s mandate, and in light of the substantial efforts of the PTS for additional saving measures and other initiatives for efficiencies of the budget, we are ready to join the consensus on the current budget proposal.
Thank you, Mr. Chairman.