Qatar calls for action on Israeli nuclear facilities

Vienna, 30 September 2023 (TDI): During the annual general conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) held in Vienna, Qatar made a significant call for increased international efforts to place all Israeli nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards.

Qatar also urged Israel to join the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons as a non-nuclear state.

Dr. Abdulaziz Salmeen Al Jabri, Chairman of the National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons, delivered Qatar’s statement on Israeli nuclear capabilities at the conference.

He emphasized that this demand aligns with resolutions passed by international legitimacy over the past half-century.

These include resolutions from the United Nations General Assembly  (UNGA) since 1974, Security Council Resolutions 487 of 1981 and 687 of 1991, various IAEA resolutions & the resolution of the Middle East Non-Proliferation Treaty Review Conference in 1995.

These resolutions have called on Middle Eastern countries not signatories to the Non-Proliferation Treaty to join the treaty and accept IAEA safeguards.

Qatar called on the international community, particularly the three depositary states of the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which are permanent members of the Security Council, to take responsibility.

They should work towards correcting the situation and taking tangible steps to implement international legitimacy resolutions.

This includes Israel’s accession to the NPT and placing all its nuclear facilities under the comprehensive safeguards of the IAEA—a necessary step toward establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.

Al Jabri emphasized that addressing nuclear proliferation in the Middle East is central to the IAEA’s tasks. The agency plays a role in establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region and applying full-scale safeguards to all nuclear activities in the area.

It is pertinent to note that the Director-General of the IAEA, Rafael Mariano Grossi
has been tasked with holding consultations with regional countries to facilitate the early application of full-scale IAEA safeguards to all nuclear activities.

This will be a crucial step toward establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone. In the statement, Qatar appealed to the Director-General of the IAEA to take the initiative to break the current impasse.

In this vein, the need to keep the issue of Israeli nuclear capabilities under discussion within the agency’s policy-making bodies was stressed.

Also read: KSA-Israel get closer to normalizing ties

Qatar’s delegation, led by Dr. Abdul Aziz Salmeen Al Jabri, participated in the 67th session of the IAEA General Conference from September 25 to 29.

The aim was to address important international nuclear issues and advocate for actions to promote peace and stability in the Middle East.

This call from Qatar underscored the ongoing international concerns regarding nuclear proliferation in the Middle East and the need for diplomatic efforts to address these issues.