EGYPT

The Permanent Mission of Egypt to the United Nations

New York

STATEMENT

BY

AMBASSADOR MOUNIR ZAHRAN
PERMANENT REPRESENTATIVE OF EGYPT
IN GENEVA

BEFORE
THE THIRD SESSION OF THE PREPARATORY COMMITTEE FOR THE
2000 REVIEW CONFERENCE OF THE STATES PARTIES TO THE
TREATY ON THE NON-PROLIFERATION OF NUCLEAR WEAPONS
ON
"NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT"

NEW YORK, 12 MAY 1999

Check Against Delivery

Mr. Chairman,

Nuclear disarmament is undoubtedly the core subject of the NPT. This Treaty would never have come into being if not for the commitment of the nuclear states to the principle of the total elimination of all nuclear weapons from the face of the earth.

I have previously cautioned in a number of statements I made on behalf of Egypt before the CD, prior to the convening of the second session of the NPT PrepCom and after it, against the persistence of the attitudes adopted by a few countries, which by blocking negotiations on nuclear disarmament could compromise the outcome of the PrepCom and indeed the future of the 2000 Review Conference.

Today I can only reiterate the same words of caution in the hope that we have all arrived at the necessary conclusions from the lessons of the failure of the second PrepCom. I certainly hope we all exert earnest efforts to avoid a repetition of the same results in this session of the PrepCom.

Mr. Chairman,

The ultimate goal of the 1968 NPT is the total elimination of nuclear weapons. The Preamble and Article VI are clear in this regard. Article VI states that "each of the parties to the Treaty undertakes to pursue negotiations in good faith on effective measures relating to cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament...".

We accepted this in 1968 in the confidence that after a maximum period of twentyfive years, and certainly by 1995, this objective must have been attained. Since 1968, however, this "... early date..." has not yet come. It is imperative that we agree in the 2000 Review Conference on the time-frame of the realization of this objective, if there is a good will to do so.

Against this background, the Nuclear Weapon States should listen to the voices of billions of people around the world, they should listen to the message delivered to them loud and clear by NGO's, they should listen to the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice which stated in 1996, and I quote:

"There exists an obligation to pursue in good faith and bring to a conclusion negotiations leading to nuclear disarmament in all its aspects under strict and effective international control" End of quote.

They should listen to the Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities which stipulates in operative paragraph 2 of its Resolution 1996114, and I quote:

"The Sub-Commission .. Recommends that the relevant international forums, in particular the Conference on Disarmament, should immediately start negotiations on nuclear disarmament to reduce nuclear weapons globally within a phased programme, with the ultimate goal of eliminating those weapons, thus contributing to the enhancement of international peace and security and the protection of human rights and fundamental freedoms and above all the right to life." End of quote.

They should listen to the voice of reason, instead of formulating unconvincing pretexts, especially in this post-Cold War era.

Reason and logic dictate that it is now time to establish an ad hoc committee on nuclear disarmament for negotiations in the Conference on Disarmament on a convention to eliminate all nuclear weapons from all parts of the world.

A number of initiatives have already been tabled for the mandate of such an ad hoc committee. The G-21, as well as a number of its members, such as Egypt, Algeria and South Africa, have tabled specific drafts. Unfortunately, the Conference on Disarmament has been completely paralyzed since the start of its 1999 session because of the procrastination of some Nuclear Weapon States and their total rejection of all these proposals including those put forward by states not members of the G-21.

The question that now faces us here, and with a certain amount of urgency, is how can we come to the review process of the NPT and deal with these inflexible positions on the part of some states which represent recurrent attempts to renege on the legal commitments which they took upon themselves in the context of this Treaty?

Mr. Chairman,

What Egypt and numerous non-nuclear weapon States are calling for is not overly utopian. We have put forward a practical proposal for nuclear disarmament to take place through a phased programme. "The Programme of Action on the Elimination of Nuclear Weapons" which I had the privilege to submit to the Conference on Disarmament on 8 August 1996 on behalf of 28 delegations from the G-21 is an important input, intended to contribute to the start of negotiations in the Ad Hoc Committee on Nuclear Disarmament, once it is established by the CD.

This Programme of Action recognizes that there is a requirement for active multilateral efforts to identify, negotiate, and implement specific step-by-step measures for the complete elimination of nuclear weapons at both the regional and international levels. It contains concrete measures to be carried out by the proposed Ad Hoc Committee on Nuclear Disarmament in three phases, the last of which takes us to the year 2020, including on the establishment of nuclear weapon free zones in general and in the Middle East in particular. Additionally, the Report of the Canberra Commission, and any other proposals can also be taken into consideration in negotiating a phased programme for nuclear disarmament with the objective of implementing the NPT provisions, and responding to the will of the international community. Progress should be achieved in this regard if we are determined to ensure the success of the 2000 NPT Review Conference.

Despite numerous initiatives to establish a nuclear weapon free zone in the Middle East, they were unable to be operationalized due to Israel's refusal to join the NPT and its refusal to place all its nuclear facilities under full scope IAEA safeguards.

Mr. Chairman,

In response to the urgent expectations of the international community, and with the objective of effectively addressing the challenges facing the global nuclear non-

-proliferation regime, the Ministers of Foreign Affairs of eight countries, namely Egypt, Ireland, Brazil, South Africa, Slovenia, Sweden, Mexico and New Zealand, issued a Declaration on 9 June 1998, entitled: "Towards a Nuclear Weapon-Free World: the Need for a New Agenda".

The international community adopted the principal ideas included in this Declaration as reflected in General Assembly Resolution 53/77Y, which was adopted by an overwhelming majority. The Resolution calls for the pursuit, in parallel, of a series of mutually reinforcing measures at the bilateral, plurilateral and multilateral levels. All these measures have gained urgency and can afford no more procrastination or delay.

The Conference on Disarmament is called upon to take a number of these measures by the establishment of an appropriate subsidiary body to deal with nuclear disarmament, as well as to pursue its negotiations on the ban of the production of fissile materials "Fiss Ban", taking into consideration both nuclear non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament objectives.

The Resolution also called for the conclusion of an internationally legally binding instrument to effectively assure non-nuclear weapon States parties to the NPT against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons.

In this regard, the Egyptian delegation associates itself fully with the statement made on behalf of the New Agenda coalition.

Mr. Chairman,

In view of the above, the Egyptian delegation proposes that the PrepCom recommend to the 2000 Review Conference that its final document should call for multilateral negotiations to start as soon as possible and include the five Nuclear Weapon States and the non-nuclear weapon States including those which possess nuclear capabilities. This should take place in parallel with unilateral and bilateral efforts to reduce nuclear weapons.