Egyptian Foreign Minister Badr Abdelatty on Friday participated in the high-level meeting to commemorate The International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on September 26, on the sidelines of the high-level segment of the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York.
During his speech, Abdelatty warned of the danger the continued stalemate in achieving nuclear disarmament poses, and of the renewed threats of its use, including Israel’s statements regarding the possibility of using nuclear weapons in Gaza, where the population is already suffering from deteriorating humanitarian conditions.
He noted the importance of emphasizing the threat posed by nuclear weapons to international peace and security, expressing Egypt’s full support for the statements of the Non-Aligned Movement, the African Group, and the Arab Group to eliminate this risk.
Abdelatty further condemned Israel’s practice of systematic starvation and forced displacement, which constitutes a grave and unprecedented violation of the principles of international law and international humanitarian law.
He also assured of Egypt’s commitment towards working to achieve the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, particularly in the Middle East, as it is the sole guarantor of protecting the region from the dangers of nuclear weapons.
Abdelatty also emphasized that the 1995 Extended and Review Conference resolution on the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East is an integral part of the agreement to extend the treaty indefinitely.
The indefinite extension of the treaty does not mean that nuclear-weapon states will continue to retain their weapons, he noted, but rather that nuclear-weapon states have a moral and legal responsibility under the treaty to achieve verifiable and irreversible nuclear disarmament.
The Foreign Minister also touched on nuclear-weapon states taking practical steps toward achieving nuclear disarmament, which would create the climate for the success of the Eleventh Session of the NPT Review Conference, 15 years after the previous Final Document adopted by Review Conferences.
This will increase confidence among members of the international community, as well as confidence in the ability of multilateral action to maintain international peace and security, he said.
Edited translation from Al-Masry Al-Youm
