Page 119 - 100 Reflections that Crafted Geneva International_V-Petrovsky_private special edition

Bringing the Concept to Life

There were basic differences with regard to the expansion of the United
Nations Register of Conventional Arms. While the Western and Eastern
European States advocated its expansion by including military holdings and
procurement through national production, the non-aligned Group, as well as
China, believed that transparency in this field would involve sensitive military
information and could therefore be detrimental to national security. А solution
was seen in regional approaches to openness and transparency which would
adapt the scope and volume of the exchange of information to the specific
security perceptions in various regions, taking as а basis some generally agreed
guidelines. On the other hand, the Group of 21 focused mainly on the
expansion of the Register to include weapons of mass destruction, particularly
nuclear weapons, advanced conventional weapons and transfers of high
technology with military applications. They demanded that detailed information
on those weapons of mass destruction be submitted annually to the United
Nations Register. The Western and Eastern European Groups, however,
opposed inclusion of such weapons in the Register, advocating instead
universal adherence to existing treaties in this field and full implementation of
their provisions, including relevant transparency measures. They also
questioned the assumption of the non-aligned Group that such weapons were
excessive and destabilizing by their very nature and pointed, instead, to the
destabilizing effect of а massive accumulation of conventional arms.
Nevertheless, they were open to consideration of other transparency measures
related to weapons of mass destruction on the basis of concrete proposals
submitted by the non-aligned Group. Most of the non-aligned Group insisted
that, under these circumstances, the Committee should not continue its work
beyond 1994.

Regarding the transfers of high technology with military applications,
some members of the non-aligned Group stressed the need to facilitate access
of developing States to high technology, expressed objection to the
continued functioning of the export control groups and called for
transparency on export control regimes. The Western Group, to which
this objection was largely addressed, maintained that export licensing
measures were consistent with existing international agreements and had
been developed solely to ensure that certain technologies could not be
diverted for non-peaceful uses.

Prevention of an Arms Race in outer Space

Over the years the international community has built а solid foundation of
space law. The United Nations has considered the question of outer space
since the beginning of the space era in 1957. The Ad Нос Committee on the
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