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Summary
Signatories of the global anti-nuclear arms treaty backed a declaration proposing a 2012 conference to discuss banning weapons of mass destruction across the Middle East. The creation of such a nuclear-free zone could ultimately force Israel to sign the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and abandon any nuclear weapons it has.The declaration was adopted by consensus by all 189 parties to the treaty, including Israel's ally, the United States, after a month-long meeting to review the NPT in New York. In addition to calling for a conference that includes all states in the region, the declaration urged Israel to sign the NPT and put its nuclear facilities under UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. Several member countries applauded the adoption of the declaration, such as Egypt, which had introduced a paper at the beginning of the review asking for a 2012 conference on the Middle East and for Israel to join the NPT. US officials however said such a zone could not be established until there was broad Arab-Israeli peace and Iran curbed its nuclear ambitions. The chief US delegate at the month-long meeting, Undersecretary of State Ellen Tauscher, had opposed naming Israel in the declaration, saying it undermined the idea of the 2012 conference. The declaration at the end of the 2010 review conference also contained general plans for further disarmament, strengthening global non-proliferation efforts and ensuring access to technology for peaceful uses. The 1970 NPT is intended to stop the spread of atomic weapons, though it allowed the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia to keep their arsenals while calling on them to negotiate on disarmament.
