S/PV.5848
5848th meeting
Monday, 3 March 2008, 12.45 p.m.
New York
Non-proliferation
Mr. Dabbashi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): The Libyan Arab Jamahiriya attaches great importance to the issue of non-proliferation, the subject that we are considering today. As all members of the Council know, Libya has voluntarily renounced its facilities and programmes related to weapons of mass destruction. We are certain that the only guarantee of non-use of these weapons is their total elimination.
In this context, we are in favour of the creation of nuclear-weapon-free zones throughout the world, including in the Middle East region. We have supported all relevant resolutions adopted in this area, including the resolutions of the 1995 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) adopted with respect to the Middle East, as well as pertinent resolutions of the General Assembly, including resolution 62/18 of 2007.
Non-proliferation and disarmament together form a single comprehensive issue which should be dealt with without selectivity. All States without exception must submit their nuclear facilities to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards regime. We deplore the fact that the Security Council has not attached adequate importance to the issue of Israel’s nuclear weapons, in spite of the fact that the Israelis are refusing to accede to the NPT or to submit their facilities to the IAEA safeguards regime.
Moreover, Israel has declared that it possesses nuclear weapons but has not respected repeated international calls to disarm. This attitude could have terrible effects on the region and on the world, especially since it, together with the massacres that are being committed in the occupied Palestinian territories right now, demonstrates that the Israeli regime is terrorist and irresponsible and does not take into consideration international law or ethics.
Libya believes that it is extremely important that the Security Council address this subject in a comprehensive way in order to convince all States in the region to accede to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. That could enhance the Security Council’s legitimacy, especially with regard to the procedures it can adopt. The Council’s selectivity has given rise to questions about the Council’s true objectives.
Our commitment to nuclear non-proliferation must not make us forget the right of all States parties to the NPT — including the Islamic Republic of Iran — to use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes and to acquire and develop related technology. The 22 February 2008 report of the IAEA Director General shows that essential progress has been made on the Iranian nuclear issue and that the majority of pending issues have been resolved. It also shows that there is now greater clarity with regard to Iran’s declared nuclear programme. It was our hope that those positive developments would be taken into account and that negotiations and diplomatic contacts would be continuing with a view to resolving contentious issues and with a view to reinforcing the status of the IAEA as the appropriate body to deal with this problem.
For our part, we did not agree with other Council members about the usefulness of a resolution imposing additional sanctions on Iran, or that this would help us achieve a solution; it might instead cause the situation to deteriorate. We had asked that the text reflect the content of the latest report of the IAEA Director General and that the draft resolution address the Iranian nuclear programme in the context of concerns related to the Middle East in general.
Because the countries that formulated the text of the draft resolution before us have taken into consideration some of the concerns we share with other members — and while, although the majority of Council members consider that it is useful to adopt a draft resolution of this kind, we do not share that view — we have decided to join the unanimous opinion in the Council and to vote in favour of the draft resolution, so that the Security Council can speak with a single voice.
