Resolution 57/97
(November 22, 2002)
The General Assembly,
Bearing in mind its relevant resolutions,
Taking note of the relevant resolutions
adopted by the General Conference of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, the latest of which
is resolution GC(46)/RES/16, adopted on 20
September 2002,1
Cognizant that the proliferation of
nuclear weapons in the region of the Middle
East would pose a serious threat to international
peace and security,
Mindful of the immediate need for
placing all nuclear facilities in the region
of the Middle East under full-scope safeguards
of the International Atomic Energy Agency,
Recalling the decision on principles
and objectives for nuclear non-proliferation
and disarmament adopted by the 1995 Review
and Extension Conference of the Parties to
the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons on 11 May 1995,2 in which the Conference
urged universal adherence to the Treaty as
an urgent priority and called upon all States
not yet parties to the Treaty to accede to
it at the earliest date, particularly those
States that operate unsafeguarded nuclear
facilities,
Recognizing with satisfaction that,
in the Final Document of the 2000 Review Conference
of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons, the Conference undertook
to make determined efforts towards the achievement
of the goal of universality of the Treaty
on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons,
and called upon those remaining States not
parties to the Treaty to accede to it, thereby
accepting an international legally binding
commitment not to acquire nuclear weapons
or nuclear explosive devices and to accept
International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards
on all their nuclear activities, and underlined
the necessity of universal adherence to the
Treaty and of strict compliance by all parties
with their obligations under the Treaty,3
Recalling the resolution on the Middle
East adopted by the 1995 Review and Extension
Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on
the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons on
11 May 1995,4 in which the Conference noted
with concern the continued existence in the
Middle East of unsafeguarded nuclear facilities,
reaffirmed the importance of the early realization
of universal adherence to the Treaty and called
upon all States in the Middle East that had
not yet done so, without exception, to accede
to the Treaty as soon as possible and to place
all their nuclear facilities under full-scope
International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards,
Noting that Israel remains the only
State in the Middle East that has not yet
become party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons,5
Concerned about the threats posed
by the proliferation of nuclear weapons to
the security and stability of the Middle East
region,
Stressing the importance of taking
confidence-building measures, in particular
the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free
zone in the Middle East, in order to enhance
peace and security in the region and to consolidate
the global non-proliferation regime,
Emphasizing the need for all parties
directly concerned to consider seriously taking
the practical and urgent steps required for
the implementation of the proposal to establish
a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region of
the Middle East in accordance with the relevant
resolutions of the General Assembly and, as
a means of promoting this objective, inviting
the countries concerned to adhere to the Treaty
on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons
and, pending the establishment of the zone,
to agree to place all their nuclear activities
under International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards,
Noting that one hundred and sixty-six
States have signed the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban
Treaty,6 including a number of States in the
region,
1. Welcomes the conclusions on the
Middle East of the 2000 Review Conference
of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons;7
2. Reaffirms the importance of Israel's
accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons5 and placement of all its
nuclear facilities under comprehensive International
Atomic Energy Agency safeguards, in realizing
the goal of universal adherence to the Treaty
in the Middle East;
3. Calls upon that State to accede
to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons without further delay and
not to develop, produce, test or otherwise
acquire nuclear weapons, and to renounce possession
of nuclear weapons, and to place all its unsafeguarded
nuclear facilities under full-scope International
Atomic Energy Agency safeguards as an important
confidence-building measure among all States
of the region and as a step towards enhancing
peace and security;
4. Requests the Secretary-General
to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-eighth
session on the implementation of the present
resolution;
5. Decides to include in the provisional
agenda of its fifty-eighth session the item
entitled "The risk of nuclear proliferation
in the Middle East".
57th plenary meeting
22 November 2002
Notes:
1. See International Atomic Energy Agency,
Resolutions and Other Decisions of the General
Conference, Forty-sixth Regular Session, 16–20
September 2002 (GC(46)/RES/DEC(2002)).
2. 1995 Review and Extension Conference of
the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document, Part I
(NPT/CONF.1995/32 (Part I) and Corr.2), annex,
decision 2.
3. See 2000 Review Conference of the Parties
to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons, Final Document, vol. I (NPT/CONF.2000/28
(Parts I and II)), part I, section entitled
"Article IX".
4. See 1995 Review and Extension Conference
of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document, Part I
(NPT/CONF.1995/32 (Part I) and Corr.2), annex.
5. United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 729,
No. 10485.
6. See resolution 50/245.
7. See 2000 Review Conference of the Parties to the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Final Document,
vol. I (NPT/CONF.2000/28 (Parts I and II)), part I, section entitled
"Article VII and the security of non-nuclear-weapon States",
para. 16.
Sources: The United Nations |