The Prime Minister and Foreign Secretary have spoken publicly of the two main security threats for the twenty-first century – terrorism, and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). These issues are at the very top of the Government’s international security agenda.

 

The UK Mission to the UN in New York is directly involved in UK efforts to help reduce the threat caused by WMD, both through its work within the Security Council and the General Assembly.

 

The Security Council first addressed this threat during a Council Meeting of Heads of States and Government organised by the UK Presidency in 1992. Members of the Council recognised that the proliferation of all weapons of mass destruction constitutes a threat to international peace and security, and noted the need for all Member States to fulfil their obligations in relation to arms control and disarmament and to prevent proliferation in all its aspects of all weapons of mass destruction.

 

The UK Mission was one of the co-authors of the Council’s first ever resolution on WMD, SCR1540. We are an active member of the 1540 Committee, the committee entrusted with oversight on the implementation of Security Council resolution 1540. The mandate of the Committee was renewed in April 2006 by way of UNSCR1673.

 

The UK Mission to the United Nations is also actively engaged in the work of other organs of the United Nations in the fields of disarmament, arms control and non-proliferation. This includes reducing the real threat caused by the proliferation and use of conventional weapons. The UK has recently informed the UN Secretariat on its report on the implementation and support (see SALW table and SAWL letter from the UK Government) for the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons.

 

The UK also supports an Arms Treaty as outlined by the former Foreign Secretary Jack Straw in his Global Arms Trade Treaty speech (pdf) on 15 March 2005.  The UN Resolution establishing a UN process for work towards an ATT, adopted on 6 December 2006, was co-authored by the UK, Argentina, Costa Rica, Finland, Japan and Kenya, and supported by a total of 153 countries.  On 12 March the UK submitted to the UN the UK’s views on ATT, and the feasibility scope and draft parameters for a legally binding treaty.  The UK is also committed to working towards the creation of a UN Group of Governmental Experts in early 2008.

 

The Mission in New York works closely on these issues with the UK Permanent Representation to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva led by Ambassador John Duncan.

 

On 4 December the Prime Minister presented to Parliament a White Paper on the future of the UK's nuclear deterrent.