Review Conf. on Treaty on Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons – Nuclear-weapon-free zone – Report submitted by New Zealand

    Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

    Report submitted by the Government of New Zealand

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    Resolution on the Middle East: New Zealand progress

38.   Operative paragraph 1: Endorses aims and objectives of the Middle East peace process and recognizes that efforts towards this goal contribute to a Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear ones .

39.   New Zealand stands for a balanced and constructive approach to the complex problems of the Middle East. We support negotiation of a just, enduring and comprehensive peace settlement in the Middle East, based on United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 and 338, and the principles derived from successive agreements between the two parties. We support the efforts of the Quartet and the road map towards a two-State solution. The New Zealand position has been made clear through contact with representatives from both sides from time to time, including with the Israeli Foreign Minister and the Chairman of the Palestinian Authority, and in public forums, such as the statement delivered by New Zealand at the fifty-ninth session of the United Nations General Assembly.

40.   New Zealand has consistently contributed to peacekeeping operations in the Middle East. We were one of the original participants in the Multinational Force and Observers and contribute to the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization (UNTSO). We also contribute to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency (UNRWA) in support of its work in addressing the humanitarian situation in the Occupied Territories.

41.   Operative paragraph 2: Reiterates call for all remaining States to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and accept IAEA safeguards on all nuclear activities.

42.   New Zealand, in partnership with the New Agenda Coalition, emphasizes the importance of universal accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. We call upon Israel to sign and ratify the Treaty, and to bring into force comprehensive IAEA safeguards.

43.   Operative paragraph 3: Notes with concern the continued existence of unsafeguarded facilities in the Middle East and urges non-parties to the Treaty to accept full-scope IAEA safeguards at such facilities.

44.   New Zealand is a staunch supporter of the role of the IAEA. We advocate full-scope safeguards and the strengthened safeguards system through Additional Protocols. In the context of the Middle East, New Zealand remains particularly concerned at the continued existence of unsafeguarded facilities in Israel, and works within the United Nations General Assembly, the review process of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and the IAEA General Conference to address this issue.

45.   Operative paragraph 4: Reaffirms importance of early universal adherence to Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and calls upon all Middle East States who have not yet done so to accede to it as soon as possible.

46.  Contribution as outlined in response to operative paragraph 2 above.

47.   Operative paragraph 5: Calls upon all Middle East States to take practical steps in appropriate forums towards an effectively verifiable Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and refrain from anything that precludes this objective.

48.   New Zealand strongly supports nuclear-weapon-free zones. We work closely with Brazil on efforts to foster a southern hemisphere free of nuclear weapons. New Zealand remains fully convinced that the establishments of regional nuclear-weapon-free zones are useful steps towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons.

49.   Operative paragraph 6: Calls upon all States parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, in particular Nuclear Weapon States, to extend cooperation and exert utmost efforts towards ensuring establishment by regional parties of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction.

50.   New Zealand welcomed Mexico’s initiative to hold a meeting of States parties and signatories to nuclear-weapon-free-zone treaties in April 2005, which recognized that greater cooperation between existing zones may contribute to progress in the formation of new zones. In this context, New Zealand welcomed the Tashkent declaration in February 2005, which laid the foundation for the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia. New Zealand continues to support the development of all regional nuclear-weapon-free zones.

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