PodcastTurkey, Iran block rival countries from joining UN disarmament talks
Turkey and Iran on Jan. 19 blocked rival countries from participating in U.N. talks aimed at overcoming a years-long deadlock over disarmament, in a move that sparked concern about the forum’s future. Turkey blocked Cyprus, as the two countries have long been at odds over the breakaway Turkish state in the island's north. Cyprus expressed “deep regret” at Turkey's decision.
Duvar English / Reuters
Talks aimed at overcoming a years-long deadlock over disarmament at the United Nations began in acrimony on Jan. 19 with two countries blocking rivals from taking part in widely criticized maneuvers that sparked concern about the forum’s future.
Turkey blocked Cyprus, while Iran blocked Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates from joining as observers, in a trend that marks a significant departure from normal U.N. protocol and might set a precedent for other bodies that operate on a consensus basis.
Cyprus, which has long been at odds with Turkey over the breakaway Turkish state in the island's north, expressed “deep regret” at Ankara's decision.
“It is a sign that the Conference on Disarmament is at a crossroads and if it wants to remain relevant and useful it has to do some soul-searching,” said Marc Finaud, former diplomat and security expert at the Geneva Centre for Security Policy.
'A new low for the UN'
Another diplomat called it a “new low” for the body.
The blockages drew criticism from other members including Britain, the United States, European Union and India.
“If we are going to start picking and choosing then I think this will be the beginning of the end of multilateralism,” Aidan Little, the British ambassador to the Conference on Disarmament in Geneva, told the virtual meeting. He urged Turkey and Iran to reverse their positions.
The two-month-long talks that began on Jan. 18 form part of the world’s only multilateral forum for disarmament.
Diplomats’ expectations for new deals in the 65-member forum are very low, with agreements often stymied by arms producers in a forum that makes decisions by consensus.
Its last major agreement was the 1996 Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty.
Still, the conference’s current president Belgium said on its Twitter feed on Jan. 18 that it hoped to set out a work program “after too many years of deadlock.”
It is not unheard of to block other U.N. members from observing U.N. forums although in the past these have pertained to decades-old sovereignty disputes.