Mideast nuclear weapons – African FM declaration – Letter from Egypt

UNITED NATIONS

GENERAL ASSEMBLY SECURITY COUNCIL

Fifty-first session Fifty-first year

Items 67 and 79 of the

  preliminary list*

ESTABLISHMENT OF A NUCLEAR-

  WEAPON-FREE ZONE IN THE

  REGION OF THE MIDDLE EAST

AFRICAN NUCLEAR-WEAPON-FREE

  ZONE TREATY

Letter dated 12 April 1996 from the Permanent Representative of

Egypt to the United Nations addressed to the Secretary-General

I have the pleasure to attach herewith the text of the Cairo Declaration adopted on the occasion of the signature of the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (the Treaty of Pelindaba) by the Foreign Ministers and heads of delegation attending the signing ceremony of the Treaty, held at Cairo, on 11 April 1996.

I should be grateful if the present letter and its annex could be circulated as a document of the General Assembly, under items 67 and 79 of the preliminary list, and of the Security Council.

(Signed)  Nabil ELARABY     

Ambassador       

Permanent Representative

* A/51/50.

96-09273 (E)   120496/…

ANNEX

Cairo Declaration, adopted on the occasion of the signature

of the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty (the Treaty

of Pelindaba), at Cairo, on 11 April 1996

The African States signatories of the African Nuclear-Weapon Free-Zone Treaty (the Treaty of Pelindaba), meeting at Cairo, on 11 April 1996,

Recalling the Declaration on the Denuclearization of Africa adopted by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity at its first ordinary session, held at Cairo in 1964,

Recalling also the adoption by the Assembly of Heads of State and Government of the Organization of African Unity at its thirty-first ordinary session, held at Addis Ababa from 26 to 28 June 1995, of the final text of the Treaty,

Recalling further United Nations General Assembly resolution 50/78 of 12 December 1995, by which the Assembly welcomed the adoption of the African leaders of the final text of the Treaty,

Recognizing the valuable contribution that the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones in Latin America and the Caribbean, South Pacific and South-East Asia have made to the process of nuclear non-proliferation,

Stressing the importance of promoting regional and international cooperation for the development of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes in the interest of sustainable social and economic development of the African continent,

Solemnly declare that the signing of the Treaty further consolidates global efforts towards the non-proliferation of nuclear weapons including the objectives of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and is a highly significant contribution to the enhancement of international peace and security;

Invite the African States to ratify the Treaty as soon as possible so that it can enter into force without delay;

Call upon the nuclear-weapon States as well as the States contemplated in Protocol III to sign and ratify the relevant protocols to the Treaty as soon as possible;

Emphasize that the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones, especially in regions of tension, such as the Middle East, on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at among the States of the regions concerned, enhances global and regional peace and security;

Call upon all those States who have not yet done so to adhere to the NPT;

Call upon the nuclear-weapon States to actively pursue the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world as embodied in article VI of the NPT, through the urgent negotiation of agreements with effective measures of verification towards the complete elimination of nuclear weapons at the earliest possible time;

Decide that the first session of the Conference of the States Parties to the Treaty shall be held not later than one year after its entry into force, and endorse the establishment of the headquarters of the African Commission on Nuclear Energy in South Africa;

Request the Secretary-General of the United Nations, in accordance with resolution  50/78, adopted by the United Nations General Assembly on 12 December 1995, to provide the necessary assistance in 1996 in order to achieve the aims of the present declaration.

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