QNA

Qatar has expressed deep concern over the “grave consequences” that threaten peace and security as a result of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East, calling on the director-general of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to hold further consultations with regional countries,  to facilitate the early implementation of IAEA’s comprehensive safeguards on all nuclear
activities in the region.

Qatar also demanded all other parties, especially those bearing a special responsibility for maintaining international peace and security, to provide  assistance to the director-general to help create a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons as soon as possible.

This came in a speech delivered by Qatar’s representative to the IAEA Board of Governors in Vienna, Dr Ahmed Hassan al-Hammadi, at a meeting of IAEA Board of Governors. 

Al-Hammadi expressed the Qatari delegation’s thanks to the director general for his report on the application of safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency in the Middle East document (GOV/2014/45). The delegation stressed that it added its voice to the Non-Aligned Movement’s statement which was delivered by Iran’s ambassador within this item.

During the speech, al-Hammadi showed a number of observations, including that for 40 years the UN General Assembly had been adopting annually a resolution calling for a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons, the IAEA’s adoption of a similar decision about a quarter of a century ago, the issuance of a UN Security Council Resolution 487, which called on Israel to subject its nuclear facilities immediately to the comprehensive safeguards system of the IAEA 33 years ago, and the resolution of the 1995 NPT Review Conference on the Middle East 19 years ago, pointing out that until now, none of these resolutions had been implemented.

He also noted that the absence of progress made it “incumbent upon us to consider the matter seriously, due to concern over the grave consequences that threaten international and regional peace and security caused by the existence of nuclear activities in the Middle East not dedicated to peaceful purposes, and the urgent need to strengthen the non-proliferation system, nuclear disarmament and achievement of the NPT global application”.

Al Hammadi said that paragraph 4 of the director general’s report summarised the main obstacle facing the establishment of the (nuclear weapons free) zone by saying “all countries in the region except Israel were parties to the NPT, and had pledged to accept the IAEA comprehensive safeguards
system.

Accordingly, Israel’s joining of the NPT and the subjection of its facilities to the IAEA safeguards system would remove the main obstacle to the establishment of the (nuclear weapons free) zone.