Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative Ambassador Mr. Tsutomu OSAWA at the 42nd Session of Working Group A of the Preparatory Commission for the CTBTO
2012/9/26
Thank you Mr. Chairman,
On behalf of the Japanese Government, I would like to thank you, Ambassador Enkhsaikhan, for chairing this Working Group. We assure you of our full and continued cooperation. We would also like to express our gratitude to the Secretariat for the opening remarks.
[Promoting CTBT entry into force]
Mr. Chairman,
The Sixth CTBT Ministerial Meeting, convened by the “Friends of the CTBT” countries, Australia, Canada, Finland, Japan and the Netherlands, and the Co-Chairs of the Article XIV Conference, Mexico and Sweden, will be held tomorrow in New York. As of today, around 60 countries are expected to attend the Meeting. After a series of consultations with States Signatories, the final Draft Joint Statement was elaborated to deliver a strong message for the entry into force of the Treaty. We would like to extend our gratitude to the States Signatories and the PTS for all the cooperation and support to date.
[Advisory Group (AG) report and recommendations]
Mr. Chairman,
We would like to thank the chair of the Advisory Group, Sir Michael Weston, for his dedicated work and especially for his leadership during the discussions on the amendments to the Financial Regulations and Rules in the Thirty-ninth Session of the Advisory Group. Japan supports the AG recommendations of the Thirty-ninth Session of the Advisory Group as a whole.
[Enhancement of the verification regime]
Mr. Chairman,
The verification regime needs to be developed in view of the future entry into force of the Treaty. In particular, the establishment of the remaining IMS facilities and OSI readiness will not be completed within a short period of time. Thus, we need to make continuous and steady efforts to this end .
Nevertheless, it is also a matter of fact that States Signatories face a serious financial situation. After the completion of 85 % of the required facilities for the International Monitoring System (IMS), it is expected that the Capital Investment Fund – Sustainment (CIF-S) will increase sharply in the near future, since the older IMS facilities need to be maintained, operated and replaced. Japan notes that having a mid-term and long-term plan for the construction of new facilities and for the maintenance, operation and replacement of existing facilities is important with a view to accommodating the necessity of developing the verification regime with its increasing costs, while taking into account of the budgetary constraints.
[2013 Draft Programme and budget (P&B)]
Mr. Chairman,
Regarding the Adjustments to the 2013 Draft Programme and Budget Proposals submitted by the PTS, the total amount of the draft budget was reduced by approximately 2 million USD after the procurement procedure of the hardware for the Storage Area Network (SAN), which was one of the reasons for exceeding Zero Real Growth (ZRG) in the initial draft, was modified from purchase to a leasing arrangement and the budget for Major Programme 1 within the IMS division was reviewed. As a consequence, the overall level of the budget is now slightly below ZRG. Japan welcomes the efforts by the PTS to enhance the SAN and make adjustments to reduce the overall budget level, while in principle, Japan’s position is in favour of Zero Nominal Growth. The enhancement of the SAN is indispensable for ensuring the provision of information to the States Signatories in an efficient and timely manner and, therefore, we support the implementation of this project.
[Installing the IPSAS-compliant Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System]
Mr. Chairman,
With regard to the implementation of the IPSAS-compliant ERP system, Japan welcomes that the project team of the PTS in cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP) has made progress on the preparation for the installation of the system, which is aimed at improving human resources and accounting management as well as policy making. We expect the successful completion of the installation of the IPSAS-compliant ERP system within the budget by further efforts of the project team. Japan commends the project team, which drafted the amendments to the Financial Regulations and Rules, and the Advisory Group members, who elaborated the revised text of the proposed amendments essential for the implementation of the system, during the Thirty-Ninth session of the Advisory Group.
Thank you Mr. Chairman.
On behalf of the Japanese Government, I would like to thank you, Ambassador Enkhsaikhan, for chairing this Working Group. We assure you of our full and continued cooperation. We would also like to express our gratitude to the Secretariat for the opening remarks.
[Promoting CTBT entry into force]
Mr. Chairman,
The Sixth CTBT Ministerial Meeting, convened by the “Friends of the CTBT” countries, Australia, Canada, Finland, Japan and the Netherlands, and the Co-Chairs of the Article XIV Conference, Mexico and Sweden, will be held tomorrow in New York. As of today, around 60 countries are expected to attend the Meeting. After a series of consultations with States Signatories, the final Draft Joint Statement was elaborated to deliver a strong message for the entry into force of the Treaty. We would like to extend our gratitude to the States Signatories and the PTS for all the cooperation and support to date.
[Advisory Group (AG) report and recommendations]
Mr. Chairman,
We would like to thank the chair of the Advisory Group, Sir Michael Weston, for his dedicated work and especially for his leadership during the discussions on the amendments to the Financial Regulations and Rules in the Thirty-ninth Session of the Advisory Group. Japan supports the AG recommendations of the Thirty-ninth Session of the Advisory Group as a whole.
[Enhancement of the verification regime]
Mr. Chairman,
The verification regime needs to be developed in view of the future entry into force of the Treaty. In particular, the establishment of the remaining IMS facilities and OSI readiness will not be completed within a short period of time. Thus, we need to make continuous and steady efforts to this end .
Nevertheless, it is also a matter of fact that States Signatories face a serious financial situation. After the completion of 85 % of the required facilities for the International Monitoring System (IMS), it is expected that the Capital Investment Fund – Sustainment (CIF-S) will increase sharply in the near future, since the older IMS facilities need to be maintained, operated and replaced. Japan notes that having a mid-term and long-term plan for the construction of new facilities and for the maintenance, operation and replacement of existing facilities is important with a view to accommodating the necessity of developing the verification regime with its increasing costs, while taking into account of the budgetary constraints.
[2013 Draft Programme and budget (P&B)]
Mr. Chairman,
Regarding the Adjustments to the 2013 Draft Programme and Budget Proposals submitted by the PTS, the total amount of the draft budget was reduced by approximately 2 million USD after the procurement procedure of the hardware for the Storage Area Network (SAN), which was one of the reasons for exceeding Zero Real Growth (ZRG) in the initial draft, was modified from purchase to a leasing arrangement and the budget for Major Programme 1 within the IMS division was reviewed. As a consequence, the overall level of the budget is now slightly below ZRG. Japan welcomes the efforts by the PTS to enhance the SAN and make adjustments to reduce the overall budget level, while in principle, Japan’s position is in favour of Zero Nominal Growth. The enhancement of the SAN is indispensable for ensuring the provision of information to the States Signatories in an efficient and timely manner and, therefore, we support the implementation of this project.
[Installing the IPSAS-compliant Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) System]
Mr. Chairman,
With regard to the implementation of the IPSAS-compliant ERP system, Japan welcomes that the project team of the PTS in cooperation with the World Food Programme (WFP) has made progress on the preparation for the installation of the system, which is aimed at improving human resources and accounting management as well as policy making. We expect the successful completion of the installation of the IPSAS-compliant ERP system within the budget by further efforts of the project team. Japan commends the project team, which drafted the amendments to the Financial Regulations and Rules, and the Advisory Group members, who elaborated the revised text of the proposed amendments essential for the implementation of the system, during the Thirty-Ninth session of the Advisory Group.
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