STATEMENT BY
H.E. SYED MOHAMAD HASRIN AIDID
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF MALAYSIA TO
THE UNITED NATIONS
GENERAL DEBATE OF THE FIRST COMMITTEE
77TH SESSION OF THE UNITED NATIONS GENERAL ASSEMBLY
NEW YORK, 4 OCTOBER 2022
Mr. Chairman,
My delegation joins others in congratulating you and members of the Bureau on your election. I assure you of Malaysia’s full support in the work of the First Committee.
2. Malaysia aligns itself with the statements delivered by Indonesia on behalf of the NAM, and by Thailand on behalf of ASEAN, respectively.
Mr. Chairman,
3. Against a backdrop of shifting global politics, various challenges persist in the domain of disarmament and international security, while new threats continue to emerge with alarming frequency. Hence, it is imperative that we navigate the prevailing complexities through sustained multilateralism, in the interest of common security, peace and sustainable development for all humanity.
4. Malaysia welcomes the resumption of in-person deliberations by the First Committee, which should spur us collectively to uphold and augment the global disarmament and non-proliferation architecture, ensuring that it remains fit for purpose in the present era.
5. Although COVID-19 has exacerbated adversities across the political, social and economic fields without regard to national borders, it is deeply regrettable that a handful of States still demand and decree the investment of substantial resources in the modernisation of their nuclear arsenals.
6. Malaysia expresses deep concern at the qualitative improvement of and quantitative increase in nuclear weapons, and the development of advanced new types of nuclear weapons, as well as the lack of progress in diminishing the role of nuclear weapons in security policies. Malaysia also condemns unequivocally any and all nuclear threats, whether they be explicit or implicit, and irrespective of the circumstances.
Mr. Chairman,
7. Malaysia reaffirms its commitment to the full and effective implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which remains the cornerstone of the global nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime. Malaysia had the honour of serving as Chair of Main Committee I of the Tenth NPT Review Conference, held in New York in August 2022.
8. Despite exhaustive deliberations by NPT States Parties, the Review Conference was unable to adopt a final document. The consecutive failure of the Ninth and Tenth NPT Review Conferences to achieve a substantive outcome does not augur well for the Treaty, and is without precedent since the NPT’s indefinite extension in 1995. The continued effectiveness of the NPT must not be taken for granted, and may well be called into question unless States Parties redouble their efforts to strengthen the integrity and credibility of the Treaty. The full implementation of all obligations and commitments undertaken by States Parties is essential in ensuring the attainment of the Treaty’s object and purpose across its three pillars of nuclear disarmament, nuclear non-proliferation and the peaceful uses of nuclear energy.
9. Increasingly sophisticated concepts, doctrines and policies cannot mask the abhorrent nature of nuclear weapons as instruments of war and destruction, and the dire humanitarian consequences and suffering which would inevitably result from any use thereof. Indeed, the only and absolute guarantee against the existential threat to humanity posed by nuclear weapons is their total elimination.
10. It is for this reason that Malaysia views the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) as a landmark instrument in our common advance towards a world free of nuclear weapons. We welcome the entry into force of the Treaty in January 2021, and the successful convening of its First Meeting of States Parties (1MSP) in Vienna in June 2022.
11. Malaysia is proud to serve, together with South Africa, as Co-Chair of the informal working group on universalisation of the TPNW, established by the 1MSP. Building on previous initiatives by the TPNW core group, Malaysia and South Africa facilitated the convening of the TPNW high-level signing and ratification ceremony as part of the Treaty Event of the UN Office of Legal Affairs in New York on 22 September 2022.
12. The event witnessed the deposit of instruments of ratification for the TPNW by two Member States, namely the Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Dominican Republic, as well as the signature of the TPNW by five Member States, namely Barbados, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Haiti and Sierra Leone. Malaysia commends these States for having taken an important step in consolidating the Treaty, which will undoubtedly continue to grow in strength.
Mr. Chairman,
13. As has been repeatedly emphasised by its States Parties and signatories, the TPNW is fully compatible with, and complementary to, the NPT as well as the various treaties establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones. With regard to the latter, Malaysia reaffirms the central role of the Southeast Asia Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (SEANWFZ) Treaty and its Protocol in safeguarding our region against the scourge of nuclear weapons.
14. In times of heightened geopolitical tension and in view of increasingly strident nuclear rhetoric, Malaysia remains concerned over the absence of legally binding negative security assurances by the Nuclear-Weapon-States to countries in our region. The conspicuous lack of signature of the SEANWFZ Protocol by any of the Nuclear-Weapon-States, which is the status quo, cannot continue indefinitely. In this connection, Malaysia underscores the urgent need to resolve outstanding matters pertaining to the signing and ratification of the SEANWFZ Protocol at the earliest, in line with the vision espoused by the ASEAN Leaders through the ASEAN Political-Security Community Blueprint 2025.
15. Further, Malaysia joins others in urging the Annex 2 States which have yet to do so, to sign and ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), so as to allow for the Treaty’s entry into force as soon as possible.
Mr. Chairman,
16. As in previous years, this session Malaysia will present to the First Committee its traditional resolution entitled “Follow-Up to the Advisory Opinion of the ICJ on the Legality of the Threat or Use of Nuclear Weapons”. Malaysia recalls the ICJ’s finding that there exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control; this assertion remains as relevant today as it was when the Court rendered its seminal opinion more than 25 years ago.
17. Malaysia continues to follow closely regional developments which impact upon international peace and security. We are gravely concerned over on-going developments in the Korean Peninsula, particularly in relation to the DPRK’s nuclear-weapon and ballistic missile programmes, which increase tension and instability, and impede efforts towards the peaceful resolution of the long-standing conflict in the Peninsula. We condemn the spike in the number of ballistic missile tests undertaken by the DPRK this year, including those of intercontinental ballistic missiles, as well as the most recent escalation through the DPRK’s launch of a ballistic missile over Japan.
18. Malaysia reiterates the importance of self-restraint by all concerned parties, and the need for resumption of dialogue towards the complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
19. We also reaffirm our support for the restoration and continued implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). Malaysia calls on all concerned parties to move forward on the basis of strong political will and diplomacy.
20. Further, Malaysia remains fully committed to the Chemical Weapons Convention as well as the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, both of which are integral elements of the global community’s efforts to save present and succeeding generations from the unspeakable horrors of weapons of mass destruction.
21. In the cyber domain, Malaysia welcomes the progress made in the open-ended working group (OEWG) on security of and in the use of information and communications technologies (2021-2025), and looks forward to further work by this body in the spirit of consensus.
Mr. Chairman,
22. In 1978, the General Assembly, in the Final Document of its First Special Session devoted to Disarmament (SSOD-I), succinctly described the prevailing international situation in the following words: “Mankind today is confronted with an unprecedented threat of self-extinction arising from the massive and competitive accumulation of the most destructive weapons ever produced.” Sadly, despite the passage of more than four decades, this observation appears equally well-suited to the contemporary state of affairs in our world.
23. The full realisation of the global disarmament agenda across various substantive areas requires its deliberative and implementing machinery to be functional, resilient and agile. In this spirit, Malaysia commends the successful convening of the substantive session of the UN Disarmament Commission (UNDC) in April 2022 after a hiatus over the last few years.
24. It is our fervent hope that, together, we will be able to strengthen and revitalise other key bodies such as the Conference on Disarmament, and, of course, the First Committee of the General Assembly, including through the present session under your able leadership.
I thank you.