The resolution, which is non-binding, condemns Israel, calls on it to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and make its nuclear facilities subject to international supervision. Fifty-eight countries voted against the text and 45 states for. The representatives of many nations chose not to attend the vote.
A senior official in the Foreign Ministry noted that Arab League nations decided this year to make a special effort in order to pass the resolution, which was rejected last year as well. The main reason for which is the ongoing negotiations between Israel and Arab states, brokered by Finland's deputy foreign minister, aimed at convening a summit for a nuke-free Middle East.
During the five rounds of negotiations held in Switzerland, Israel presented a series of preconditions for opening multi-lateral talks over regional peace in the Middle East. Though Western states accepted the Israeli initiative, viewing it as a sound base for negotiations, the Arab states dismissed the preconditions out of hand, refused to discuss the matter further and started pushing forward the resolution condemning Israel for its alleged nuclear arsenal....................http://www.haaretz.com/news/diplomacy-defense/1.61775525/9/14
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Remarks at IAEA General Conference (U.S. State Department)....
ReplyDeleteRemarks
Thomas M. Countryman
Assistant Secretary, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation
Vienna, Austria
September 25, 2014
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(As Delivered)
Agenda Item 20
Israeli Nuclear Capabilities
The United States regrets that the resolution on Israeli Nuclear Capabilities was once again introduced in the General Conference. We welcome the fact it was voted down, but we do not celebrate. There are no winners today. Discussion of this issue has diverted us from our shared priority of strengthening the IAEA, and has diverted the regional states from the critical task of engaging with each other.
The United States remains committed to universality of the NPT. We have worked hard to bring regional parties together in a spirit of consensus and compromise, as we work toward convening the conference to discuss the establishment of a weapons of mass destruction free zone in the Middle East.
We urge all regional states – Israel, Iran, and the Arab states – to display the determination necessary to engage with their neighbors in order to open the Helsinki Conference and begin the difficult – but necessary – process of building a WMD-Free Zone in the Middle East, a goal every delegation in this room shares. To achieve that goal, there is no substitute for direct dialogues. Resolutions in this
hall are not a substitute for direct dialogue. And speeches in this hall, in which regional states accuse each other of insincerity, have the effect – if not the intent – of making dialogue more difficult.
It is a fact that the conference has not been held, a source of frustration for all of us. But it is false to say that no progress has been made in the process of regional consultations held for this purpose to date, and the United States and other conference conveners remain committed to our responsibility to hold the Helsinki conference as soon as agreement is reached among the regional parties on the agenda and modalities for the conference. The regional states have discussed these issues directly and constructively, and we remain optimistic consensus can be achieved.
In every state in the Middle East, there are diplomats who possess vision and creativity and determination and patience, and we will not stop our efforts to work with them in pursuit of this goal.
http://www.state.gov/t/isn/rls/rm/2014/232165.htm
25/9/14