The U.N. Security Council on Saturday finalized a draft resolution to be considered during a meeting Thursday on nuclear disarmament, Kyodo News reported (see GSN, Sept. 14).
(Sep. 21) -
Delegates from U.N. Security Council member nations meet earlier this month. The body appears set to approve this week a resolution that endorses various steps toward nuclear disarmament (Stan Honda/Getty Images).
The United States submitted the proposed document earlier this month.
The final version is six pages in length and highlights the importance of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty. It calls for increased membership in that pact and the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, and backs the creation of nuclear weapon-free zones (see GSN, Sept. 18).
U.S. President Barack Obama is expected to lead the Security Council session, which would include speeches by leaders from members of the 15-nation body. The resolution is expected to be approved, Kyodo reported (Kyodo News/Breitbart.com, Sept. 20).
During the meeting, Obama intends to "emphasize the importance of strengthening the international nuclear nonproliferation regime" and to assert that the Security Council has a key role in ensuring that nations meet their commitments under the regime, said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (Agence France-Presse/Spacewar.com, Sept. 20).
Indian national security adviser M.K. Narayanan, whose nation has not joined the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty or the test ban, said he is "not worried about the proposed resolution," the Indo-Asian News Service reported yesterday.
However, New Delhi also wants to ensure the document does not affect nuclear-energy deals established with the United States and other nations.
"We have talked to countries with whom we have entered into agreements, like France. We have also talked to the U.K. with whom we are negotiating an agreement. And I will be talking to Russia in a day or two," Narayanan told CNBC.
"This issue has already been raised. Americans have come to us and whatever happens to the resolution will not affect (the) civil nuclear agreement (between India and the U.S.)," he added (Indo-Asian News Service/Hindustan Times, Sept. 20).
Meanwhile, the General Conference of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Friday approved a resolution that knocks Israel for holding what is believed to be the Middle East's sole nuclear arsenal, the Associated Press reported.
Forty-nine of the body's 150 member nations voted in favor of the resolution, which "expresses concern about the Israeli nuclear capabilities" and notes "concern about the threat posed by the proliferation of nuclear weapons for the security and stability of the Middle East."
Forty-five states opposed the resolution, the first such pronouncement in nearly two decades, and 16 abstained from the decision.
The decision was "openly hostile to the state of Israel," said Israeli envoy David Danieli, who charged Iran and Syria with "creating a smoke screen" to obscure their "pursuit of nuclear weapons."
Glyn Davies, the U.S. envoy to the U.N. nuclear watchdog, rejected an "attempt to use this resolution to criticize a single country."
"Such an approach is highly politicized and does not truly address the complexities at play regarding crucial nuclear-related issues in the Middle East," he said.
Countered Iranian envoy Ali Asghar Soltanieh: "The U.S. administration .... has received a message that they should not continue supporting Israel at any price" (George Jahn, Associated Press/Yahoo!News, Sept. 18).
The General Conference also signed off on the IAEA budget for 2010-2011, along with resolutions on plans for deterring nuclear terrorism and application of IAEA safeguards in Middle Eastern states, among other matters, the agency said (International Atomic Energy Agency release, Sept. 18).