Nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East – First Cttee debate – Verbatim record (excerpts)

Official Records

General Assembly

Fifty-fifth session

First Committee

4th meeting

Tuesday, 3 October 2000, 3 p.m.

New York

President:  Mr. U Mya Than…………………….(Myanmar)

The meeting was called to order at 3.05 p.m.

General debate (continued)

/…

Mr. Samhan (United Arab Emirates) (spoke in Arabic):  …

/…

My country has acceded to the NPT, to the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on Their Destruction with a view to strengthening their universality so that the establishment of zones free of weapons of mass destruction can lead to disarmament. Once more, we urge that the Middle East, including the Arab Gulf region, should become a nuclear-weapon-free zone and a zone free of other weapons of mass destruction. We urge the international community to call upon the Israeli Government to accede to the NPT and to place all its nuclear installations under International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards in accordance with the relevant internationally binding resolutions and with the provisions adopted at the 2000 NPT Review Conference.

/…

Mr. Bebars (Egypt) (spoke in Arabic):  …

/…

Progress towards a world free of nuclear weapons has to start with serious regional efforts that aim at realizing nuclear disarmament and at ridding the world of nuclear dangers. In our region, the Middle East, all States of the region have committed themselves to realizing this lofty objective by adhering to the NPT and abiding by all related undertakings, with the exception of one country, Israel, which refuses to join in the region’s efforts and which insists on retaining the nuclear option on the basis of redundant, obsolete doctrines of deterrence. In order to confront that inflexible position, the international community united in adopting the Final Document of the sixth NPT Review Conference, which reiterated the importance of Israel’s adherence to the Treaty and the placing of its nuclear installations under comprehensive IAEA safeguards. That repeated call reflects the unique nature of the situation in the Middle East and reaffirms the need to follow up the implementation of the 1995 NPT Review Conference resolution on the Middle East.

Egypt realizes that addressing the threat of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East is a matter of urgency and cannot be delayed or faced reluctantly. Egypt has thus stepped up its efforts to rid the region of the nuclear threat and of the danger of retaining nuclear facilities that are not subject to comprehensive IAEA safeguards.

The following initiatives have received wide and consolidated international support. In 1974, the General Assembly adopted, for the first time, a resolution on establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East; such a resolution has been adopted by consensus since 1980. The General Assembly has annually adopted by an overwhelming majority a resolution on the risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, calling on Israel, as the sole State in the region outside the NPT, to adhere to the Treaty without delay and to discard the nuclear option. President Mubarak took the initiative, in April 1990, of calling for the elimination of all weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East and of their means of delivery in order to avert the dangers posed by these weapons, and as a natural extension of Egypt’s initiative, calling for the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region. The IAEA has annually adopted a consensus resolution on IAEA safeguards in the Middle East that calls for the implementation of full scope IAEA safeguard measures with regard to all nuclear facilities in the Middle East; furthermore, the Conference on Disarmament considers annually an agenda item on Israeli nuclear capabilities and their dangers. The Disarmament Commission’s adoption in April 1990 of general guidelines for the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones provided the basis for such a zone in the Middle East. The sixth NPT Review Conference affirmed that Israel must adhere to the Treaty and place all its nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguard measures, with a view to realizing the objective of full adherence to the Treaty in the Middle East.

Despite all these efforts, Israel has not yet responded to the calls of the international community to adhere to the NPT and to place its nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguard measures. Nor has Israel responded to suggestions at the international and regional levels to begin serious negotiations on the subjective and procedural aspects for freeing the Middle East of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction, thus increasing our determination to achieve serious and effective progress to save the Middle East from the scourge of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

/…

Mr. Babaa (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic):  …

/…

The international community emphasizes the importance of the NPT, but Israel refuses to respect calls to end its nuclear arms programmes. Israel’s nuclear capacity continues to grow and to endanger regional and international peace and security. That capacity threatens the Arab world, from the Gulf to the Atlantic. The threat of nuclear catastrophe as a result of Tel Aviv’s acquisition of over 200 nuclear warheads is serious, not to mention its conventional, biological, chemical and other weapons. Israel has acquired them with the blessing of a major nuclear Power, which upholds a double standard by helping Israel develop its nuclear technology so that it can produce weapons of mass destruction, while preventing other countries from using the nuclear technology at their disposal for peaceful purposes. With that major Power’s blessing, Tel Aviv continues to strengthen its nuclear capacity on land, in the sea and in the air. In fact, it was reported several weeks ago that Tel Aviv had received three Dolphin submarines from a major European Power. Those vessels can carry cruise missiles and launch nuclear warheads. In fact, those missiles were tested successfully in the Indian Ocean.

The Israeli army has at its disposal all sorts of weapons and is willing to use them. In recent days we have seen that army use those weapons to kill and wound scores of unarmed Palestinian men, women and children and to destroy their property simply because they are protesting colonization and calling for respect for their rights and dignity.

We have referred to this very important issue because we are convinced that until the international community takes effective measures to force Israel to adhere to the NPT, eliminate its nuclear weapons and heed the call of the international community to become part of a nuclear-weapon-free zone and place its nuclear installations under verification, then all non-proliferation efforts will be in vain, as will every disarmament effort by the international community.

/…

The meeting rose at 6.05 p.m.