Mr. President,

I have the honor to take the floor in this Second Conference to Facilitate the Entry into Force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty on behalf of the countries members of MERCOSUR, Argentina Brazil, Paraguay and Uruguay and of the associated countries of Chile and Bolivia.

It is a source of pride to see the fraternal country of Mexico, birthplace of the Treaty of Tlatelolco that established the first nuclear-weapon-free zone, presiding over this Conference which has been convened to promote the early entry into force of a Treaty that requires the parties thereto to refrain from carrying out any nuclear test in any place under their jurisdiction or control and to refrain from conducting any underground tests.

We wish, first of all, to associate ourselves with the statement made by Her Excellency, the Minister of Foreign Affaires of the Republic of Chile, Soledad Alvear, on behalf of the States members of the Rio Group.

Following the terrorist attacks of 11 September, it became even more evident that the United Nations needed to work strenuously to ensure that future generations did not have to witness tragedies like the one that occurred on that day and which left in its wake the devastation of lost lives and destruction.  That is why it is now more than ever before necessary to discharge the mandate that was entrusted to all of our countries meeting here today, which is to strengthen international peace and security through prevention of the proliferation of nuclear weapons in all their aspects and achievement of the ultimate objective of nuclear disarmament.

MERCOSUR is proud to have committed itself to perfecting instruments and mechanisms for the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction with the ultimate objective being to achieve a nuclear-weapon-free world.

The countries of MERCOSUR, Bolivia and Chile have also adopted various confidence-building measures in keeping with our commitment to continue to work towards the achievement of the objective of the Political Declaration of MERCOSUR as a Zone of Peace, which was signed in Ushuaia, Argentina, on 24 July 1998.

We also reaffirm what was stated on the occasion of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Review Conference, when we declared that our countries believe that nuclear activities for peaceful purposes should be carried out on the basis of transparency and compliance with internationally accepted levels of nuclear safety and the physical protection of nuclear materials.

We have also obtained the support of all members of MERCOSUR for the Ottawa Convention, which established MERCOSUR and its associated States as a zone free of anti-personnel landmines, which we hope would be extended to the entire western hemisphere.

Mr. President,
With the deposit of the instruments of ratification by Paraguay and Uruguay, MERCOSUR and its associated States became the first institutionally organized subregion to formally become party to this important Treaty.  MERCOSUR became the first subregion in which nuclear testing is prohibited.

With this we have joined in the vanguard of those seeking to ensure that all the countries of the region of Latin American and the Caribbean sign and ratify the Treaty.

We also support the initiative to adopt in the Organization of American States resolutions 1747 and 1791 in support of the early ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test- Ban Treaty.

The member countries of MERCOSUR, Bolivia and Chile take this opportunity to appeal to States that have conducted nuclear tests over the last decade and which have not ratified the Treaty to do so as early as possible.  We also appeal to Annex II States to ratify the Treaty.  By doing so, they would be making a contribution of historic importance to peace in the world and to their own security.

We also urge the international community to continue to observe the principles and obligations of the Treaty, even though its entry into force is still pending.

Thank you very much.
 

Sources

• http://www.un.org/webcast/ctbt/statements/uruguayE.htm