Resolution 59/106
(December 3, 2004)
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(48)/RES/16, adopted on 24 September
2004,1
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 nonproliferation 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 nonproliferation 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 seventy-three 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 sixtieth session on the implementation of the
present resolution;
5. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of
its sixtieth session the item entitled “The risk of nuclear proliferation
in the Middle East”.
66th plenary meeting
3 December 2004
Notes
1 See International Atomic Energy Agency, Resolutions
and Other Decisions of the General Conference,
Forty-eighth Regular Session, 20–24 September 2004 (GC(48)/RES/DEC(2004)).
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 |