The New Nation - Internet Edition

BSS, Dhaka

Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Bangladesh to the United Nations Ismat Jahan underscored the need for refocusing on the link between disarmament and development, and urged the major military powers to divert the resources to poverty alleviation in the developing countries.

She said the global military expenditure exceeding 1.3 trillion US dollar in 2007 was increasingly having a negative impact on the development agenda of the developing countries, according to a message received here on Tuesday.

Addressing the General debate of the first Committee of the 63rd UN General Assembly yesterday, Ismat Jahan also stressed the impact of disarmament on ecology and global climate regime to grapple with the new and emerging challenges of climate change.

She said disarmament is a cornerstone of foreign policy of Bangladesh, which is bound by its constitution to general and complete disarmament. She also mentioned that Bangladesh which is a party to all major international instruments pertaining to disarmament, believes that the continued existence of weapons of mass destruction constitutes the greatest threat to humanity.

She observed that article IV of the Non Proliferation Treaty guarantees the inalienable rights of all states to develop, research, produce and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes. These guarantees must apply without discrimination, and the rights of non-nuclear- weapon states to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy ad technology must be upheld and promoted, she added.

Ismat Jahan said Bangladesh strongly believes in regional approaches to nuclear disarmament. She maintained confidence- building measures through the establishment of nuclear-weapon- free-zones (NWFZ) can contribute significantly to this goal. Nuclearization of South Asia is a particular concern for Bangladesh, she added.

She urged upon India and Pakistan to relinquish their nuclear option and join the NTP regime. Israel must also do the same in the Middle East, she emphasized. She said that the bilateral agreements on civilian use of nuclear energy should not, in any way, hinder the cause of regional disarmament.