STATEMENT

by Ambassador Eric M. Javits

United States Representative to the Conference on Disarmament

Geneva, September 12, 2002

As Delivered

CD Plenary Remarks by Ambassador Eric M. Javits September 12, 2002

Before I begin, let me extend my warmest congratulations to our esteemed colleague, Ambassdor Faessler, and through him to the Confederation of Switzerland on joining the United Nations family.

Mr. President :

Yesterday, September 11th, the United States of America solemnly marked the one year anniversary of the terrorist attacks on the City of New York, the Pentagon, and in the State of Pennsylvania.

We remember the several thousand people, from every walk of life and from more than 90 countries, who left their homes and loved ones one Autumn morning never to return.

We appreciate the moment of silence accorded yesterday by all the United Nations bodies in remembering the heinous attacks of September 11 and I personally appreciate the expressions of warm support and sympathy from my professional colleagues.

Mr. President :

As an American with deep personal and professional ties to New York, it is difficult for me to think back on what happened one year ago yesterday and be completely dispassionate about it. Still none of us should erase from our minds the horrifying images of commercial airliners being diabolically driven into those stately structures, and the awesome aftermath of death and destruction. September 11th marked the first time in more than a century that the U.S. mainland itself came under attack, and we Americans experienced what so many of your countrymen and others have suffered over the last century - the horrors of war visited on ones own's homeland.

But dispassionate and resolute we must all be, for there is much work to be done if we are to prevent the scourge of terrorism from destroying not just innocent lives, but everything in the civilized world we have built and hold dear.

Terrorism is a global problem. Some of you here represent nations that have long suffered its shattering effects. This is why only a resolutely united world can defeat terrorism, as we have begun to do during the past year.

Our collective action has resulted in gains for our common security. More than 90 nations, from Spain to Singapore, have arrested or detained more than 2,400 terrorists.
More than 160 nations have frozen more than $100 million of assets associated with terrorist groups and their supporters.

In Afghanistan, which had been a haven for international terrorists, the Taliban's brutal rule has been ended. Afghanistan now has a popularly chosen interim government, and more than 1.5 million Afghan refugees have returned home this year.

Much has been accomplished in the war against terrorism, but this struggle is far from over and will not be won unless it is waged on every front with unwavering vigilance, unity and perseverance.

Mr. President :

September 11th taught us that a new breed of terrorist has emerged on the world scene - those who are willing to kill thousands - perhaps even millions - in order to achieve their warped aims, and to do so without remorse. We have learned that it is not the downtrodden, but perversely the privileged who were behind these atrocities. Since September 11th, we have been tragically -reminded that none of us is invulnerable to the forces of evil, and this vulnerability, increases dramatically when evil people gain weapons of mass destruction.

This is why my government is fully committed to preventing the world's most destructive weapons from falling into the hands of the world's most dangerous people, and why George Bush has reiterated that doing nothing in the face of this grave threat is not an option.

The non-proliferation regimes we have built over many years against nuclear, chemical and biological weapons must be maintained, and strengthened.

Anything less may result in a catastrophe that we fear to contemplate but dare not ignore.

Which brings me to the Conference on Disarmament.

The international community has been united in its desire to protect humanity and global stability from the terrorist threat, and since September 11th has been proactively addressing that threat.

This institution - the CD - was created to play an important role in helping to stem the spread of deadly weapons and the materials from which they are made.

This body was born in the Cold War - a more stable, predictable period in global history, when things moved more slowly, and when it was acceptable for international bodies to take years to make decisions, if ever.

Those days are past. Today, we need to move as swiftly as -- and indeed, be one step ahead of -- the terrorists that confront us all.

The international community has accorded the Conference on Disarmament a preeminent role in negotiating the very agreements that will assist in combating the threats of the 21St century.

But still the CD fails to act.

Mr. President :

It has been said that "the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step." For much of the last six years, the CD has taken many `first steps' towards adoption of a work program, but each has faltered.

Out of respect for the victims of 9/11, we owe more than a moment of silence. We owe using every means at our disposal, and that certainly includes the CD, to get to work to help insure that never again, anytime, anywhere, will the abomination of September 11th - or one even worse - be repeated.