Japan's Thoughts on the CSCE and its Activities Contribution to the Conference on Security and Cooperation in Europe

-The Address by Ambassador Nobuo Matsunaga,the Envoy of the Japanese Government-

5 December 1994

The stability and prosperity of Europe are intimately linked to the stability and prosperity of Asia, of which Japan is a part. It is a great pleasure for Japan to have been invited here to Budapest for this Summit Meeting, which will turn a new page in the history of the CSCE, and to be able to witness, first hand, the union of efforts towards the stability and prosperity of the nations of Europe. This paper seeks to express Japan's thoughts on the CSCE and its activities and on the matter of the security of Europe. This paper focuses on the following five points:

1. Development of the CSCE as a regional arrangement
2. Enhancement of the preventive diplomacy functions and the conflict resolution capacity of the CSCE
3. Arms control and disarmament and confidence-building measures by the CSCE
4. Regional issues in Europe
   1. The former Yugoslavia
   2. Withdrawal by the army of the Russian Federation from the Baltic States
5. The question of non-participating states and Japan's contribution

I. The development of the CSCE as a regional arrangement

As the expectations for the United Nations to play a larger role increase, in view of the fact that there is a limit to the capacity of the United Nations to respond to the many issues facing the world, cooperation between the United Nations and regional organizations is more important than ever before. As a complement to the United Nations, and in accordance with Chapter VIII of the United Nations Charter, which regulates interaction with regional arrangements, there are urgent expectations for the CSCE to display, both within and outside its domain, the intent and ability to solve intraregional issues by itself.
Japan welcomes the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly concerning cooperation between the United Nations and the CSCE (A/49/L.20), and highly values the agreement on cooperation and coordination between the United Nations and the CSCE signed in May 1993.
From this perspective, Japan observes, with keen interests, discussions of the "CSCE First" or "primary instrument" principle -- that is, CSCE will play a primary role in efforts to solve intraregional disputes by itself before referring such disputes to the United Nations. It is also interesting for Japan to note that many CSCE countries support partial revision of the consensus principle, which has acted as a central principle of the CSCE, in establishing the ability of the CSCE to act in the fulfillment of its responsibility as a regional arrangement. As a result, the CSCE will develop from the loose, ongoing "conference", which it has been, to an "organization" for the maintenance of peace.

II. Enhancement of the preventive diplomacy functions and the conflict resolution capacity of the CSCE

Preventive diplomacy is becoming increasingly important in the security sector, and Japan commends the fact that the CSCE has enhanced its early warning, conflict prevention and crisis control functions. In particular, the CSCE has wisely chosen to direct its focus towards the violations of human rights and ethnic issues which have been cause of many conflicts to have broken out in the aftermath of the end of the confrontation between East and West. Making the various activities undertaken by the CSCE more organically linked to the internal workings of such CSCE organizations as the High Commissioner on National Minorities and the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights will enhance the quality of CSCE operations. Moreover, the CSCE principles on peace-keeping operations have already been established in the Declaration of the 1992 Helsinki Summit Meeting, and it is hoped that, as a first example, agreement will be reached on the dispatch of a CSCE peace-keeping force to Nagorno-Karabakh.

III. Arms control and disarmament and confidence-building measures by the CSCE

Japan welcomes the establishment of a "Code of Conduct on Politico-Military Aspects of Security", the Vienna Document 1994, and "Global Exchange of Military Information".
Japan is especially observant of the fact that works have been made for principles governing in the CSCE and of the fact that preparations are moving forward for the accession of Ukraine as a non-nuclear weapon State to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
Preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction is extremely important in order to ensure the security of the entire world. Japan supports the indefinite extension of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, which is the central framework of the nuclear non-proliferation regimes, and has made a contribution to the efforts of nuclear non-proliferation in the former Soviet Union through its assistance for the dismantling of nuclear weapons and for the International Science and Technology Centre. Attention must be paid to the fact that there remains a danger of nuclear proliferation in Asia, as can be seen in the nuclear weapons development problem on the part of North Korea. Just as Japan cooperates for nuclear non-proliferation in Europe, Japan strongly urges the nations of Europe to cooperate for nuclear non-proliferation in Asia.
Further, Japan welcomes the fact that the four nuclear weapon States which participate in the CSCE have declared a moratorium on nuclear testing, and expects that in the future, all of the nuclear weapon States of the world will cease nuclear testing. Japan will continue to make efforts towards the early conclusion of the negotiations on the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.

IV. Regional issues in Europe

A. The former Yugoslavia

While the conflict in the former Yugoslavia has become a global issue which the entire international society must approach together in order to solve, it is originally a European regional conflict, and Japan continues to support the primary role of the European initiatives, and from the perspective of cooperating for such initiatives, Japan has contributed to the improvement of the situation as much as possible. Japan commends the CSCE's initiatives in establishing a conflict resolution mechanism and a Conflict Prevention Center, and in dispatching many kinds of spillover missions to the regions in the former Yugoslavia. Japan has extended cooperation for those activities by dispatching Foreign Ministry officials to the seven-month long-term mission to the former Yugoslavia and to the six-month Spillover Mission to Skopje. These were part of efforts for improving the situation there and for deepening cooperation between Japan and Europe. In addition, Japan has been actively contributing to the operations of the United Nations, with the disbursement of more than US$100 million, primarily in the area of humanitarian assistance, and Japan intends to continue to assist the efforts towards a solution of the conflict in the former Yugoslavia by such organizations as the United Nations and the CSCE.