The State of Qatar affirmed that freeing the Middle East region of nuclear weapons contributes to achieving security and stability in the region, pointing to its contribution over the past four decades to official efforts and initiatives to free the Middle East region of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, noting its accession to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of nuclear weapons and other international treaties on weapons of mass destruction.
This came in a statement made by Vice-Chairman of the National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW) Abdulla Ibrahim Al Marzooqi, at the UN Second Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction, which began its work in New York.
Al Marzooqi said that the first conference in 2019 represented a major turning point in joint efforts, under the umbrella of the United Nations, within the framework of holding an annual negotiating conference to develop a treaty to establish a zone free of these weapons in the Middle East, expressing the hope of the State of Qatar for continuous efforts until the establishment of the free zone.
Al Marzooqi expressed hope that the conference will yield the desired results, which necessitates working in a spirit of cooperation to complete the draft treaty and keep the issue open for discussion in the relevant international forums.
In this context, Al Marzooqi presented the proposals of the State of Qatar to form open-ended working groups to study and develop ideas on verification, control and inspection mechanisms, and to identify the elements of the treaty, the protocols to be attached, and other issues that require study and dialogue.
He pointed out the importance of forming an open-ended working group to study national needs and regional expertise required, and to consider setting up an intensive program to build national capacities to implement the commitments contained in such treaties. He called for coordinating work efforts between the two sessions to follow up on what is agreed upon at the conference, stressing the importance of the Presidency Conference submitting a report on the work of the conference, what needs to be accomplished, and the results achieved to the upcoming Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Conference of the States Parties (COSP) to the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), and the First Meeting of States Parties (1MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), in order to gain support from these conferences and to keep the topic alive and up for discussion on their agendas.
Al Marzooqi also expressed the belief of the State of Qatar that the establishment of the free zone is the only initiative that deals with the issues of the proliferation of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, through a comprehensive regional approach to all countries in the region.
The Vice-Chairman said that the establishment of this free zone represents the cornerstone for building a regional security structure in the region, and one of the confidence-building measures between the concerned parties in the Middle East.
He reiterated the State of Qatar's affirmation that it will continue to work within the framework of the United Nations, and will spare no effort in supporting the leadership of the conference towards fruitful discussions and results that achieve the interests of the region and the world and the desired results of the conference.