Jordan Times
Friday, April 30, 2004
Jordan calls for Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction
AMMAN (JT) — Jordan demanded that Israel join the
Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) as a signatory and open its nuclear sites to
inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), at a UN
conference reviewing the treaty on Wednesday,
In his address at the meeting, First Secretary of Jordan's UN Mission Bishr
Khasawneh said that Israel's refusal to join the NPT and to allow inspections is
the major obstacle to a Middle East free of weapons of mass destruction in
compliance with a resolution on the region issued in 1995.
The diplomat was speaking at the meeting of the Preparatory Committee for the
2005 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty.
The 1995 resolution on the Middle East calls for the establishment of an
effectively verifiable Middle East zone free of weapons of mass destruction —
nuclear, chemical and biological — and their delivery systems.
The 56th session of the United Nations General Assembly also reached a consensus
adoption of Resolution 56/21 of 29 November 2001, entitled “Establishment of a
nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region of the Middle East,” which refers to the
establishment of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction.
Israel is a member of the IAEA but has not entered as a signatory to the NPT,
which the IAEA is mandated to enforce. Israel is thus not a subject of IAEA
surveillance and verification.
Arab countries which are members of the IAEA, have complained that Israel's
alleged nuclear weapons programme is not being investigated at a time when
countries like Iran are under intense scrutiny from the UN agency.
Khasawneh reaffirmed Jordan's and member Arab countries' commitment to the NPT,
describing the pact as the cornerstone in the non-proliferation regime.
He noted that Jordan has been an active player in international efforts to rid
the world of weapons of mass destruction and has ratified all relevant
international agreements.