Washington : The Kingdom of Bahrain stressed the importance of establishing a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, in implementation of the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which should help in maintaining regional and international peace and security.
This came during the statement delivered by the Permanent Representative of the Kingdom of Bahrain to the United Nations, Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei at the Second Session of the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction, which commenced today Monday.
Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei affirmed the Kingdom of Bahrain’s support for the efforts aimed at disarming weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery and preventing their spread, as the Kingdom acceded to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and the Convention on the Prohibition of Biological Weapons in 1988, and the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997.
He added that Bahrain is also a member of all international conventions in the field of nuclear safety, including the Convention on Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism. He underlined that the Kingdom also ratified the agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency to implement safeguards within the framework of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons and its protocol.
In this regard, he noted that the Kingdom established the National Committee on the Prohibition of the Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction, which monitors all chemical-related activities.
He also stressed the inalienable right of all countries to benefit from the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and its many fields of application, and the importance of achieving more benefit in the exchange of nuclear knowledge and techniques between industrialized and developing countries alike.
He highlighted the importance of encouraging safe and peaceful uses of atomic energy, with a commitment to applying safeguards on nuclear security and safety and that all nuclear facilities and programs are subject to the comprehensive safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in a manner that does not endanger international peace and security.
In this context, he underscored the importance of the future legal instrument allowing countries to develop nuclear programs of a peaceful nature, in a way that contributes to the development of the region.
He stressed the need to subject all nuclear facilities in the region to the safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and specifying clear mechanisms to verify the extent of the compliance of countries, and the procedures that can be resorted to in the event that any country in the region does not cooperate with the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Ambassador Jamal Fares Alrowaiei also urged the Islamic Republic of Iran, as a country in the region and a state party to the conference, to implement all its international obligations and to cooperate fully before the international community and the IAEA to address all outstanding issues related to its nuclear program, in a manner that guarantees its peaceful nature.
He further stressed the importance of basing the process of negotiations between the state parties on good intentions without preconditions and with collective action, overcoming differences and recurring issues, meeting at common points and building on the course and outcomes of the previous session, as the desired goal requires the commitment of all countries in the region, without exception, to ban all types of nuclear weapons and to make equal and reciprocal commitments in this regard.
The Second Session of the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction saw the participation of UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres who delivered a speech affirming the importance of building a safer world. T
The President of UNGA 76th Session, Abdulla Shahid also addressed the conference where he noted some progress in this context, the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, the renewal of the START Treaty between the United States and Russia, and the ongoing talks on the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
