Resolution 58/68
(December 19, 2003)
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(47)/RES/13, adopted on
19 September 2003, 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, 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-nine
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-ninth session on the
implementation of the present resolution;
5. Decides to include
in the provisional agenda of its fifty-ninth session the item entitled
"The risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East".
71st plenary meeting
8 December 2003
Notes
1See International Atomic Energy Agency, Resolutions and Other Decisions of the General Conference,
Forty-seventh Regular Session, 15–19 September 2003 (GC(47)/RES/DEC(2003)).
21995 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.
3See 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".
4See 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.
5United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 729, No. 10485.
6See resolution 50/245.
7See 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 |