2024-08-03 05:36:01
“The need, even the urgency, of creating such zones has become apparent, particularly in the Middle East, where it remains, more than ever, an eminent regional approach for international peace and security, in accordance with Article 7 of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT),” Mr. Zniber stressed during a panel on “zones free of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction.”
Given the current geopolitical and security context, this issue is more than ever an essential priority, he observed, noting that it is with great interest that Morocco is taking part in this thematic panel, to share the deep concerns of the international community regarding the dramatic development of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
In this context, Morocco has constantly supported decisions aimed at strengthening the NPT review process, Mr. Zniber recalled, specifying that consequently, the Kingdom fully subscribes to the positive conclusions of the Review Conferences since 1995 and reaffirms the importance of their implementation by the States parties, in a transparent, balanced and irreversible manner.
Morocco remains deeply concerned by the danger posed by the acquisition and potential use of nuclear, chemical, biological or radiological weapons by non-state actors and armed groups, particularly in the Middle East, he added, warning of the humanitarian consequences of the use of this type of weapon.
“The idea of this impact must mobilize us all to undertake the necessary measures to hasten the creation of a zone free of nuclear weapons in the Middle East,” the diplomat recommended.
Morocco remains convinced that mutual dialogue and the strengthening of the capacities of the States of the region to implement the provisions of the relevant non-proliferation and disarmament legal regimes, including on a voluntary basis, constitute an important step towards the establishment of relations of trust leading to the establishment of the NWFZ in the Middle East.
It is also in this spirit that the Kingdom, which signed and ratified the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (INP), respectively in 1968 and 1970, also ratified the African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty, which constitutes a qualitative complement to the international and continental system of nuclear weapons control, and which at the same time promotes the peaceful use of energy, in order to achieve environmental and socio-economic development in Africa.
And to conclude that the Kingdom will continue its consensual approach and its choice for the use of dialogue and diplomatic negotiations to bring together the different positions on this issue of common interest, in order to achieve the objective of protecting all States and peoples from the devastating effects of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.
2024-08-03 05:36:01