Mr. Chairman,
Dear Honorary Participants,
Dear Participants,
It is a great honor for me to be able to welcome you in Luxembourg today at the occasion of this Conference on Preventing Nuclear Catastrophe organized by the European Jewish Fund. Rarely a meeting on this subject has been attended by so many high ranking experts, and I welcome the fact that this event takes place here in Luxembourg, in the heart of the European district.
More than fifty years ago, Luxembourg was one of the founding members of the European Coal and Steel Community, predecessor of the European Union. This historical step, which resulted in the creation of a supranational institution - this was a revolution in itself - , was taken only few years after Luxembourg’s population had suffered from the war and devastation. But despite the fact that many resentments had not yet disappeared, a vast majority was supportive of this decisive move to insure peace and stability for the European continent.
But as peace was consolidated between past enemies, tensions grew on a wider scale. During the Cold War, the two superpowers were pointing tens of thousands of nuclear war heads and missiles at each other, and humankind had to face the risk of mutually assured destruction. The end of this era, more than fifteen years ago, raised the hope that nuclear weapons would soon completely disappear, but this kind of optimism may have been premature.
Of course, we are not confronted anymore with the perspective of total annihilation of humankind as in the past, but new threats have arisen. Nowadays some state and non-state actors try to acquire nuclear military capabilities, mostly under the cover of peaceful use of nuclear energy or through illicit procurement networks, thereby constituting a major challenge to the global non-proliferation regime. Moreover, the continued presence of thousands of warheads in the arsenals of the major powers represents a preoccupying situation in the context of nuclear disarmament.
Major steps have certainly been taken in tackling these issues. A considerable reduction of strategic and non-strategic nuclear weapons has taken place since the end of the Cold War and the international community is acting resolutely to address the serious nuclear proliferation events that have occurred in the last years.
But more needs to be done. Efforts in the nuclear arms control and disarmament process, including non-strategic nuclear weapons, are essential if we want to send the right signals to the States which are critical of the current disarmament efforts, as well as of our calls for the strengthening of non-proliferation standards. The strengthening of these standards is essential in order to prevent the further spread of nuclear weapons while, at the same time, we need to assure developing States that these non-proliferation measures will non limit their legitimate right to the peaceful use of nuclear energy as long as they act in accordance with the non-proliferation commitments foreseen by the NPT.
Indeed, the global non-proliferation regime results from a delicate balance between the three mutually reinforcing pillars of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT): disarmament, non-proliferation and peaceful use of nuclear energy. Lately, this Treaty, which during decades has prevented the spread of nuclear weapons, has come under pressure, and we need to find solutions in order to save this regime and the delicate balance it establishes. Discussions like the one on nuclear fuel assurances indicate, I believe, new ways for us to explore; Austria has recently issued an interesting paper on this subject. At the same time, we urgently need to overcome the deadlock in the work of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva.
Moreover, we need to re-establish confidence in the global non-proliferation regime and trust between States. I am deeply convinced that the multilateral approach to these questions, as well as to security issues in general, is the only way to preserve peace and stability. Multilateralism is based on the concept of shared commitments and obligations, and I firmly believe that once all the States have reaffirmed this concept, worldwide tensions will diminish.
Furthermore, I don’t consider it as too idealistic to say that all the money we are spending to maintain, modernize or increase our arsenals would be better spent in humanitarian cooperation efforts or development aid, which are also – and probably better – tools designed to achieve international peace and stability.
Mr.Chairman,
Dear Honorary Participants,
Dear Participants,
Let me come back to my introductory remarks. The creation of the European Coal and Steel Community was a courageous step undertaken by six countries, which were past enemies, at a time where it was not evident for States to abandon sovereign rights. This was the right choice. Today, in the area of nuclear weapons, this equation is still valid: if we manage to make the right concessions, the global gain will largely outweigh the individual losses.
Initiatives like this conference, reflecting on ways and means to strengthen the non-proliferation regime and move forward on nuclear disarmament, will help to bring us closer to our ultimate goal : a world free of nuclear weapons.
I wish you the best of success for your discussions,
Thank you.