Media Center

New York – Information Office – 16 October

The State of Qatar has underlined that it attaches great importance to avoiding the humanitarian consequences of the existence and use of nuclear weapons, stressing the continuation of its national, regional and international efforts to achieve this goal . It also stressed the importance of the peaceful development of nuclear energy programs in a responsible manner, in cooperation with the IAEA, with a view to ensuring the highest standards of safety and security.

This came in Qatar's statement delivered by HE Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Thani, member of the delegation of the State of Qatar participating in the 72nd session of the United Nations General Assembly, before the First Committee of the United Nations General Assembly on the item on nuclear weapons.

HE Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Hamad Al-Thani said that the State of Qatar attaches importance to the issue of nuclear disarmament, as it continues to fulfill its legal obligations resulting from its accession to international conventions in the field of disarmament, particularly the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive Nuclear- in support of international efforts to curb the proliferation of nuclear weapons.

He noted that the developments in the world confirm the importance of the international community in the field of nuclear disarmament, as international efforts had continued in this area since the adoption of the first General Assembly resolution on disarmament and the Final Document of the first special session of the General Assembly devoted to disarmament the 1968 Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, which is a very important stage, making the nuclear disarmament a non-negotiable international legal obligation.

"Nearly half a century after the adoption of that Treaty and its subsequent international instruments, the world continues to aspire to achieve the objectives of those instruments, since it is not possible to define a specific time frame for nuclear disarmament and the implementation of article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons Possession of nuclear weapons ", , he said, stressing the importance of complying with the undertakings contained in the relevant international instruments.

He added that the danger of the spread of nuclear weapons in the Middle East is a source of concern to the peoples of the region, as it is the only region that has not made significant progress in removing nuclear weapons," He stressed the need to intensify international cooperation to spare the region and the world the dangers posed by the existence of nuclear weapons.

He said that the goal of the international community in the field of comprehensive denuclearization would not be achieved without the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East region. This confirms the adoption by the General Assembly of an annual resolution on this issue, in addition to the Middle East Resolution And the 1995 review of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), HE Sheikh Abdulrahman noted, considering this issue as one of the essential pillars of the treaty's indefinite extension.

He stressed Qatar's keenness to participate in adopting UN General Assembly resolutions on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons. He expressed Qatar's appreciation for the efforts of the UN General Assembly and the efforts of the participating delegations. He reiterated that the Qatari delegation would continue to cooperate to achieve the results desired by all and its efforts to join the related statement of the Arab Group and the statement of the Non-Aligned Movement.