Statement by Counsellor Masaki ISHIKAWA at the 41st Session of Working Group A of the Preparatory Commission of the CTBTO
2012/5/23
Thank you Mr. Chairman,
On behalf of the Japanese delegation, I would like to congratulate you, Ambassador Enkhsaikhan, on your appointment as Chairman of Working Group A. We assure you of our full and continued cooperation. We would also like to thank the Executive Secretary, Ambassador Tibor Tóth, for his Opening Remarks and the Chair of the Advisory Group, Sir Michael Weston, for his excellent leadership during the Thirty-Eighth Session of the Advisory Group, which I personally witnessed as a participant of the last Advisory Group.
[Promotion of the CTBT]
Chairman,
At the outset, Japan would like to extend its congratulations to the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) of the CTBTO on the 15th anniversary of its establishment. We commend the PTS for the progress in building and maintaining the CTBT verification system and for the certification of approximately 80 % of the IMS facilities during the past 15 years. Although the CTBT has yet to enter into force, we consider Indonesia’s ratification this February as one step forward towards the entry into force, bringing the total number of ratifications to 157 and the total number of remaining Annex II States to 8. The CTBT Friends Countries, Australia, Canada, Finland, Japan and the Netherlands, and the Co-Chairs of the Article XIV Conference, Mexico and Sweden, have started preparations for convening the Friends Ministerial Meeting this September in order to enhance the momentum towards the early entry into force of the CTBT. We call upon all states to support us in this endeavour.
[Contribution to the enhancement of the Atmospheric Transport Modelling (ATM)]
Chairman,
The Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11 last year and its aftermath posed a stress test to the CTBT verification regime, which reaffirmed its capability not only to detect nuclear explosions, but also to respond to natural disasters. On the other hand, it revealed that it is necessary to improve the automatic processing systems in order to reduce the analysts’ workload and to increase data storage for dealing with the huge amount of data.
In this respect, Japan made a voluntary contribution of US$ 736,000 this February for the enhancement of the ATM. We expect that it will improve the accuracy of the projections of the dispersion of radioactive materials and the processing capability, and that it will lead to a better detection capability of nuclear tests. Japan calls upon the PTS to launch this project without delay.
[2013 Draft Programme and Budget]
Chairman,
In view of the future entry into force of the CTBT, Japan reiterates its view that it is essential to continue steadily with the build-up of the verification system. In particular, the establishment of the remaining IMS facilities and OSI readiness will not be completed within a short period of time. Thus, the efforts towards readiness need to move forward continuously.
Regarding the 2013 Initial Draft Programme and Budget (CTBT/PTS/INF.1180), Japan takes note that the proposed budget exceeds Zero Real Growth (ZRG) by 1.7 % under the Programme-driven budget. Japan understands the necessity of strengthening the Storage Area Network, which ensures information provision, such as sending data from IMS facilities and producing IDC products, in order to deal with the huge amount of data smoothly and to provide the information to the State Signatories in a timely manner. We also understand that the Post Certification Activity (PCA) cost, necessary to maintain the IMS facilities after their certification, has to be increased and now makes up more than 40 % of the IDC budget. Moreover, we welcome the PTS’s efforts to cut the budget, for example by reducing the Monitoring Facility Support Coordination cost of the IMS division by approximately 60 % by postponing IMS facility construction, by not substantially increasing the OSI budget and by creating no new posts. Nevertheless, it is also a matter of fact that all State Signatories face a serious financial situation. Therefore, Japan calls upon the PTS to make continued efforts to accommodate the needs of developing and maintaining the verification system with the increasing costs while taking into account the budgetary constraints.
[Preparation for the On-Site Inspection (OSI) Integrated Field Exercise (IFE14)]
Chairman,
Japan welcomes the successful consensus reached at the 38th session of Working Group B, which recommended the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as the host country for the IFE14. We believe the upcoming IFE14 will measure and confirm the progress of the build-up of the OSI verification system and it will demonstrate possible future orientations.
Regarding the OSI Build-up Exercise Phase 1, which was held from 16 to 20 April this year, we believe it was very beneficial that all Missions of the State Signatories had the opportunity to observe the progress of their preparedness. Japan expects that further progress on the preparedness will be made during the second and the fourth phase of the OSI Build up Exercise this autumn.
Regarding the financing of the IFE14, Japan expects that the financing including the possible reimbursements to the State Signatories will be implemented in accordance with the decision made at the 37th session of the Preparatory Commission. In this respect, we expect efforts by the PTS to make effective use of the budget and reallocate budget as needed. Furthermore, we call upon all countries to respond positively to the PTS’s request to provide or to lend them equipment, which will be used during the IFE14. Japan is also considering the possibility of lending equipment.
[Installing the IPSAS- compliant Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System]
Chairman,
Regarding the implementation of the IPSAS-compliant ERP project, Japan welcomes that the project team of the PTS in cooperation with the WFP has been preparing for the installation of the IPSAS-compliant ERP, which is aimed at more appropriate human resources and accounting management as well as better policy making. We expect the successful completion of the installation of the ERP system within the budget by further efforts of the project team.
[Capacity Development]
Chairman,
We commend the PTS for its consistent efforts to develop human resources and assure you of our readiness to cooperate in this regard. We are delighted to announce that Japan is going to co-host the seminar entitled “Engaging the Experts, Training the Trainers: A Seminar on CTBT Education in the 21st Century” from 11 to 12 June 2012.
In conclusion, Japan looks forward to working constructively with you, Chair, during this WGA session and we hope that significant progress will be made.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
On behalf of the Japanese delegation, I would like to congratulate you, Ambassador Enkhsaikhan, on your appointment as Chairman of Working Group A. We assure you of our full and continued cooperation. We would also like to thank the Executive Secretary, Ambassador Tibor Tóth, for his Opening Remarks and the Chair of the Advisory Group, Sir Michael Weston, for his excellent leadership during the Thirty-Eighth Session of the Advisory Group, which I personally witnessed as a participant of the last Advisory Group.
[Promotion of the CTBT]
Chairman,
At the outset, Japan would like to extend its congratulations to the Provisional Technical Secretariat (PTS) of the CTBTO on the 15th anniversary of its establishment. We commend the PTS for the progress in building and maintaining the CTBT verification system and for the certification of approximately 80 % of the IMS facilities during the past 15 years. Although the CTBT has yet to enter into force, we consider Indonesia’s ratification this February as one step forward towards the entry into force, bringing the total number of ratifications to 157 and the total number of remaining Annex II States to 8. The CTBT Friends Countries, Australia, Canada, Finland, Japan and the Netherlands, and the Co-Chairs of the Article XIV Conference, Mexico and Sweden, have started preparations for convening the Friends Ministerial Meeting this September in order to enhance the momentum towards the early entry into force of the CTBT. We call upon all states to support us in this endeavour.
[Contribution to the enhancement of the Atmospheric Transport Modelling (ATM)]
Chairman,
The Great East Japan Earthquake on March 11 last year and its aftermath posed a stress test to the CTBT verification regime, which reaffirmed its capability not only to detect nuclear explosions, but also to respond to natural disasters. On the other hand, it revealed that it is necessary to improve the automatic processing systems in order to reduce the analysts’ workload and to increase data storage for dealing with the huge amount of data.
In this respect, Japan made a voluntary contribution of US$ 736,000 this February for the enhancement of the ATM. We expect that it will improve the accuracy of the projections of the dispersion of radioactive materials and the processing capability, and that it will lead to a better detection capability of nuclear tests. Japan calls upon the PTS to launch this project without delay.
[2013 Draft Programme and Budget]
Chairman,
In view of the future entry into force of the CTBT, Japan reiterates its view that it is essential to continue steadily with the build-up of the verification system. In particular, the establishment of the remaining IMS facilities and OSI readiness will not be completed within a short period of time. Thus, the efforts towards readiness need to move forward continuously.
Regarding the 2013 Initial Draft Programme and Budget (CTBT/PTS/INF.1180), Japan takes note that the proposed budget exceeds Zero Real Growth (ZRG) by 1.7 % under the Programme-driven budget. Japan understands the necessity of strengthening the Storage Area Network, which ensures information provision, such as sending data from IMS facilities and producing IDC products, in order to deal with the huge amount of data smoothly and to provide the information to the State Signatories in a timely manner. We also understand that the Post Certification Activity (PCA) cost, necessary to maintain the IMS facilities after their certification, has to be increased and now makes up more than 40 % of the IDC budget. Moreover, we welcome the PTS’s efforts to cut the budget, for example by reducing the Monitoring Facility Support Coordination cost of the IMS division by approximately 60 % by postponing IMS facility construction, by not substantially increasing the OSI budget and by creating no new posts. Nevertheless, it is also a matter of fact that all State Signatories face a serious financial situation. Therefore, Japan calls upon the PTS to make continued efforts to accommodate the needs of developing and maintaining the verification system with the increasing costs while taking into account the budgetary constraints.
[Preparation for the On-Site Inspection (OSI) Integrated Field Exercise (IFE14)]
Chairman,
Japan welcomes the successful consensus reached at the 38th session of Working Group B, which recommended the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan as the host country for the IFE14. We believe the upcoming IFE14 will measure and confirm the progress of the build-up of the OSI verification system and it will demonstrate possible future orientations.
Regarding the OSI Build-up Exercise Phase 1, which was held from 16 to 20 April this year, we believe it was very beneficial that all Missions of the State Signatories had the opportunity to observe the progress of their preparedness. Japan expects that further progress on the preparedness will be made during the second and the fourth phase of the OSI Build up Exercise this autumn.
Regarding the financing of the IFE14, Japan expects that the financing including the possible reimbursements to the State Signatories will be implemented in accordance with the decision made at the 37th session of the Preparatory Commission. In this respect, we expect efforts by the PTS to make effective use of the budget and reallocate budget as needed. Furthermore, we call upon all countries to respond positively to the PTS’s request to provide or to lend them equipment, which will be used during the IFE14. Japan is also considering the possibility of lending equipment.
[Installing the IPSAS- compliant Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System]
Chairman,
Regarding the implementation of the IPSAS-compliant ERP project, Japan welcomes that the project team of the PTS in cooperation with the WFP has been preparing for the installation of the IPSAS-compliant ERP, which is aimed at more appropriate human resources and accounting management as well as better policy making. We expect the successful completion of the installation of the ERP system within the budget by further efforts of the project team.
[Capacity Development]
Chairman,
We commend the PTS for its consistent efforts to develop human resources and assure you of our readiness to cooperate in this regard. We are delighted to announce that Japan is going to co-host the seminar entitled “Engaging the Experts, Training the Trainers: A Seminar on CTBT Education in the 21st Century” from 11 to 12 June 2012.
In conclusion, Japan looks forward to working constructively with you, Chair, during this WGA session and we hope that significant progress will be made.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
The Practical Export Control Workshop was hosted by the Wassenaar Arrangement as part of its 20th Anniversary programs and held at the Permanent Mission of Japan to the International Organizations in Vienna on 27 and 28 June 2016. More than 100 government representatives from 46 countries participated in the technically focused Practical Workshop.
Workshop speakers included the 2016 WA Plenary Chair Ambassador Anu Laamanen (Finland), 2016 WA General Working Group Chair Ambassador Paul Beijer (Sweden), 2015-2016 WA Experts Group Chair Robertas Rosinas (Lithuania), 2016 WA Licensing and Enforcement Officers Meeting Chair Jon Erik Strömö (Norway), as well as the Head of the WA Secretariat, Ambassador Philip Griffiths. The WA control lists as well as export licensing and enforcement topics were covered during the two days.
The following link from WA’s webpage contains more details:
http://www.wassenaar.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/June-2016-Workshop-media-release.pdf
Workshop speakers included the 2016 WA Plenary Chair Ambassador Anu Laamanen (Finland), 2016 WA General Working Group Chair Ambassador Paul Beijer (Sweden), 2015-2016 WA Experts Group Chair Robertas Rosinas (Lithuania), 2016 WA Licensing and Enforcement Officers Meeting Chair Jon Erik Strömö (Norway), as well as the Head of the WA Secretariat, Ambassador Philip Griffiths. The WA control lists as well as export licensing and enforcement topics were covered during the two days.
The following link from WA’s webpage contains more details:
http://www.wassenaar.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/June-2016-Workshop-media-release.pdf