Eu Day Light

Pakistan’s Mission in Geneva announced that Ambassador Tahir Andrabi chaired the 1,794th plenary meeting of the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva. The meeting was the first plenary held under Pakistan’s presidency during the 2026 session.

In his opening remarks as President of the Conference, Ambassador Andrabi noted that the international security environment has deteriorated markedly in recent years. He said ongoing armed conflicts in different regions, alongside the erosion or termination of key arms control mechanisms, the modernization and expansion of national arsenals, and rapid advances in new technologies pose serious risks to global security.

Andrabi said rapid technological advances in areas such as outer space, cyberspace and artificial intelligence have outpaced the existing international frameworks established to manage these developments.

Stating that the world has become more dangerous because of these developments in the international security environment, Andrabi said this makes the work of the Conference on Disarmament more important and urgent than ever.

Warning that the Conference’s long-standing deadlock should not be attributed directly to the institution itself, Andrabi recalled that the Conference on Disarmament had previously served as the platform where major agreements forming the foundation of the international security architecture were negotiated.

Andrabi noted that the Conference had achieved significant results in the past with the same institution, essentially the same rules and the same mechanisms, indicating that the current problem stems from disagreements among members rather than from the institution’s structure.

Using the example of a bus to explain the situation, Andrabi said that if passengers cannot agree on the destination, the problem does not lie with the bus.

Andrabi emphasized that the Conference on Disarmament possesses a unique body of institutional experience for the international community.

He noted that the Conference brings together all militarily significant states on the basis of agreed rules and is backed by decades of accumulated expertise, stressing that the existing structure cannot easily be replaced by another institution.

The President said it would not be easy for the international community to rebuild an institution that does not currently exist and emphasized the importance of making effective use of the existing platform.

Andrabi said that, as the final president of the 2026 session, one of Pakistan’s main responsibilities is to ensure the preparation and adoption of the Conference’s annual report to be submitted to the United Nations General Assembly, and called on all delegations to cooperate.

Andrabi asked all delegations to work together so that the annual report can be adopted on time and by consensus. The Conference President highlighted the importance of demonstrating a constructive spirit and flexibility during this process.

Ambassador Andrabi also said Pakistan’s presidency would remain open to all delegations and assured that every delegation would continue to have access to the Presidency.