Resolution 50/73
(December 12, 1995)
Egypt has been pursuing its demand that
Israel adhere to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation
Treaty. When it proposed the following
resolution, only Israel was mentioned by name.
100 nations abstained in the vote, 2 voted
against (Israel and the U.S.) while 56 voted in
favor. It was a clear indication that the
majority of members did not wish to deal with
this sensitive issue at this stage of the peace
process.
The General Assembly,
Bearing in mind the relevant United Nations
resolutions,
Taking note of the relevant resolutions
adopted by the General Conference at the
International Atomic Energy Agency, the latest of
which is GC(39)/RES/24, adopted in September
1995, and noting the danger of nuclear
proliferation, especially in areas of tension,
Cognizant that the proliferation of nuclear
weapons in the region of the Middle East would
pose a serious threat to international peace and
security,
Aware of the importance that all nuclear
facilities in the region be placed under
full-scope safeguards of the International Atomic
Energy Agency,
Recalling the resolution on the Middle East
adopted by the Conference of the Parties to the
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear
Weapons on 11 May 1995, 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,
Recalling further the decision on principles
and objectives for nuclear non-proliferation and
disarmament adopted by the Conference of the
Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of
Nuclear Weapons on 11 May 1995, in which the
Conference urged universal adherence to the
Treaty as an urgent priority and called upon all
States not yet party to the Treaty to accede to
the Treaty at the earliest date, particularly
those States that operate unsafeguarded nuclear
facilities,
Encouraged by the recent positive developments
in the Middle East peace process, which would be
further strengthened by States of the region
undertaking practical confidence-building
measures in order to consolidate the
non-proliferation regime,
1. Welcomes the accession of the United Arab
Emirates on 26 September 1995 to the Treaty on
the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons;
2. Calls upon Israel and all other States of
the region that are not yet party to the Treaty
on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons not
to develop, produce, test or otherwise acquire
nuclear weapons, to renounce possession of
nuclear weapons and to accede to the Treaty at
the earliest date;
3. Calls upon the States of the region that
have not yet done so to place all 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-first session
on the implementation of the present resolution;
5. Decides to include in the provisional
agenda of its fifty-first session the item
entitled “The risk of nuclear proliferation
in the Middle East.”
Sources: The United Nations |