Statement by the delegation of Ukraine at the UNSC briefing on the Non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction

I thank the Chair of 1540 Committee, Permanent Representative of Bolivia for his briefing today.

We commend the work of your predecessor, the Spanish Ambassador, at the helm of the 1540 Committee who contributed immensely to the progress achieved in the previous two years, and I wish you too every success in chairing this Committee.

The year of 2016 marked a significant stage in fostering the WMD non-proliferation regime. We join others in reconfirming support to the Comprehensive Review process, which culminated in unanimous adoption of resolution 2325. Conclusions and recommendations of the 2016 Comprehensive Review, once properly implemented, will significantly reinforce or even reenergize resolution 1540. The Review report, while clearly demonstrating the differentiated implementation progress regarding both WMD types and various obligations contained in resolution 1540, helps to define specific areas for each concerned party as to where national or regional efforts should be intensified.

A possible use of weapons of mass destruction is a clear and present danger to the mankind. The risk of the world’s most dangerous materials falling into the wrong hands, either intentionally or as a result of neglect or oversight, remains high.

Resolutions 1540 and 2325 complement existing international regimes of non-proliferation of nuclear, chemical and biological weapons and means of their delivery by preventing illegal trafficking of relevant materials and prohibiting their acquisition by non-state actors.

However, despite all the measures by Member States to reduce proliferation risks, the world is witnessing growing and ever more sophisticated threats in this area. These risks arise not only from gaps in national legislation but also from the rapid development of science and technology, as well as e-commerce along with a lack of threat awareness among academia, industry and civil societies.

Strengthening cooperation in preventing proliferation of WMD and its components, as well as building synergies among all stakeholders, including relevant international, regional, sub-regional, non-governmental organizations, is an urgent task. In this context the 1540 Committee should also contribute to promoting such a cooperation, in conformity with the Comprehensive Review recommendations and provisions of resolution 2325.

We do believe the recently adopted Program of Work will guide the Committee as well as its Working Groups how to build further and not to lose what has been already achieved during the Comprehensive Review process.

In the past decade chemical and biological materials are quite often referred to as potential weapons of terrorists, non-state actors and rogue states. Apparently, this assumption appears to be true. In particular, there have been confirmed cases of the use of chemical weapons – from chlorine to Vx-gas. Ukraine’s positon in this regard is very clear - any use of WMD under any circumstances has to be met with a strong response from the international community through bringing all the perpetrators accountable.

To conclude, I’d like to reiterate Ukraine’s intention to be engaged constructively both within 1540 Committee and with broader UN membership to ensure that the outcomes of the Comprehensive Review will bear fruits and contribute to further strengthening the global architecture of WMD non-proliferation.

Thank you.