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UAE calls for N-arms free zone in Mideast

This came in the statement made by Mohamed Issa Abushahab, Member of the delegation of the UAE before the First Committee of the General Assembly, prior to the voting on the two draft resolutions.

Following is the full text of the speech made by Abushahab:

Mr Chairman, the progress achieved by the international community in disarmament of nuclear weapons and promotion of peaceful uses of nuclear technologies has not reached the desired expectations. The issue of nuclear disarmament continues to be the primary concern of this committee, especially since some nuclear states have continued to maintain their nuclear facilities and arsenals, and to improve the transport methods of these weapons.

Furthermore, since the end of the Cold War, other countries on the pretext of national defence requirements strived to acquire, manufacture, develop and carry out experiments on these weapons.

The UAE has closely followed up the increasing gap between the nuclear weapon states, which strive to develop their nuclear arsenals, and the demands of the non-nuclear weapon states, which call for dismantling nuclear weapons and using these technologies for peaceful purposes. The UAE is deeply concerned about the non-compliance of some countries to the provisions of the NPT which represents the cornerstone of international efforts aimed at promoting universal disarmament of strategic weapons and strengthening vertical and horizontal systems of non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, which require, first and foremost, participation of nuclear-weapons states in serious and effective negotiations that lead to fulfillment of those countries to their obligations in respect of complete cessation and elimination of all nuclear programmes and transport methods within a specific time-frame. This should be done in accordance with article 6 of NPT, and the 13 steps agreed upon in the Review Conference 2000.

Furthermore, nuclear-weapons states must provide safeguards to the non-nuclear weapons states to ensure their protection from the threats of use of these dangerous weapons.

The United Arab Emirates attaches great importance to the regional and global efforts aimed at strengthening the disarmament and NPT regimes as a strategy for peace, security, and confidence building. We renew our call to the international community for its active participation in establishing a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, in the Middle East and Arabian Gulf.

In this context, we urge member states to take effective measures to compel Israel, the sole country in the Middle East that has not acceded to the NPT, to immediately do so, and to dismantle its dangerous nuclear facilities after being fully subjected to the supervision and safeguards of the IAEA. We also appeal to other states of the region that are pursuing nuclear testing or acquisition of similar weapons to reconsider their position pursuant to the relevant international legitimate resolutions.

The United Arab Emirates’ co-sponsorship of the two draft resolutions dealing with nuclear dangers and the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East reflects its strong belief that peace, security, stability and sustainable development are legitimate rights of all peoples and states without exception.

To achieve the goals of complete disarmament, all member states must comply with the international legislation adopted in this regard, in order to promote the principals of confidence-building, peaceful co-existence and good neighbourliness. To this end, the UAE urges all members of this committee to support the two draft resolutions on: “Establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East” and “The risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East”, contained in documents A/C.1/59/L.3 and L.37 respectively, for they address the alarming situation in the Middle East and contribute to the global efforts aimed at achieving complete disarmament in order to avoid scourge of wars and destruction of mankind.

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