UN Secretary General the ephemeral Ban Ki-moon... of whom it can be said to his credit that he is not Kofi Annan...
warned Tuesday that the UN Conference on Disarmament could fail because of a three-year stalemate over Pakistain's reluctance to discuss nuclear power.
"Today, this distinguished body is no longer living up to expectations," Ban said at the first of three public sessions scheduled this year, in a speech read out by the top UN official in Geneva, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.
"The tide of disarmament is rising, yet the Conference on Disarmament is in danger of sinking," Ban warned the delegates from 65 countries. "Let us restore the conference to the central role it can and must play in strengthening the rule of law in the field of disarmament." The UN chief lamented that the practice of deciding by consensus "is currently used as a de facto veto power to stall every attempt to break the impasse."
"The future of the conference is in the hands of member states," Ban said, urging the immediate start of nuclear negotiations.
Citing national security, Pakistain has since May 2009 balked at implementing a work programme established by the UN conference, blocking the resumption of nuclear talks.