UAE backs nuclear-free Middle East resolutions

NEW YORK // The Government said it supported UN proposals to keep nuclear weapons out of the Middle East. The UAE and other Arab League members endorsed two draft resolutions being debated by the UN General Assembly's committee on disarmament and international security.

Officials have long assumed that Israel has nuclear arms. Iran and Syria are alleged to have nuclear-weapons programmes. A draft resolution released this week, sponsored by Egypt, calls for a "nuclear-weapon-free zone" in the Middle East, suggesting that governments "declare solemnly that they will refrain, on a reciprocal basis, from producing, acquiring or in any other way possessing nuclear weapons".

The resolution further suggests that countries "agree to place their nuclear facilities under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards and to declare their support for the establishment of the zone". A second draft resolution highlights the "threats posed by the proliferation of nuclear weapons to the security and stability of the Middle East". The document notes that Israel is the only country in the region that is not party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and calls on non-signatories to accept the "international legally binding commitment not to acquire nuclear weapons".

The draft documents follow similar non-binding General Assembly resolutions from previous UN sessions. Hani Mohamed bin Huwaidin, from the UAE mission to the UN, said both resolutions were supported by the Government. Committee members expect to see the draft resolutions adopted either by vote or consensus towards the end of the month. The Government outlined its concerns surrounding nuclear weapons earlier this month when Ahmed al Jarman, Ambassador to the UN, warned committee members of the threats posed by reckless arms trading.

"The challenges facing international peace and security were compounded, not only by the race to acquire arms, but by a backdrop of smuggling arms and dangerous materials, making it possible for dangerous weapons to fall into the hands of extremists," he said. While affirming the right of the UAE and other countries to use atomic energy to generate electricity, Mr Jarman called on "countries that did not possess those weapons, but wished to do so" to "reconsider their position".

Mr Jarman urged Israel to dismantle any atomic weapons it might have and said Iran should be flexible in settling its disagreements with the West over its nuclear programme. Speaking in the same debate, the UN's high representative for disarmament affairs, the Brazilian Sergio Duarte, said world leaders were still arguing about nuclear-weapons concerns that were debated 30 years ago. Mankind was still "confronted with an unprecedented threat of self-extinction arising from the massive and competitive accumulation of the most destructive weapons ever produced", Mr Duarte said.

Mr Duarte said Iran's activities were particularly concerning. Delegates from Iran and Syria were not available for comment, but each country has denied having a nuclear-weapons programme. Representatives of Israel were not available for comment. @Email:jreinl@thenational.ae