S/PV.6141
6141st meeting
Friday, 12 June 2009, noon
New York
Non-proliferation/Democratic People’s Republic of Korea
Mr. Dabbashi (Libyan Arab Jamahiriya) (spoke in Arabic): Libya believes that weapons of mass destruction, particularly nuclear weapons, cannot constitute a source of security. They pose a threat both to the States possessing them and to other States as well. Therefore, we believe that the world will not enjoy security until we manage to eliminate all stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction in all States, and that non-nuclear-weapon States should refrain from trying to acquire them.
Proceeding from this position, Libya eliminated its programmes of weapons of mass destruction under international supervision. As the Council knows well, Libya is a party to a treaty making Africa a nuclear-weapon-free zone. It also looks forward to the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East region.
We believe that the international community wasted a precious opportunity that would encourage other States to abandon weapons of mass destruction when Libya was not properly rewarded for doing so, and when it did not receive the assistance necessary for the acquisition of peaceful nuclear technology, particularly with regard to water desalination, treatment of diseases and the production of energy. The international community similarly failed to grant the necessary incentives at the proper time to the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, just as it did not make appropriate use of the situation of Libya.
Libya emphasizes the right of all States to the peaceful uses of nuclear energy, in accordance with the provisions of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. At the same time, it emphasizes that the nuclear installations of all States — and I say all States without exception — must be subject to the supervision of the International Atomic Energy Agency as well as be under its safeguards regime. In this connection, we would like to state that measures taken by the international community must be global and non-selective, and they must extend to Israeli nuclear activities, which still threaten the Middle East region as well as the world in its entirety, without any clear-cut position having been taken by the Security Council.
Libya has always been in the forefront of those States that do not encourage the imposition of sanctions, because they do not achieve the desired result. Rather, they directly harm peoples by increasing of poverty and hunger and through the deterioration of health and education services. Libya has always called for the pursuit of good offices and dialogue to settle disputes. With regard to the matter before us, we have always supported the Six-Party Talks and have encouraged the parties to pursue them as the optimal way to address the Korean nuclear question.
We still believe that negotiations constitute the reasonable approach that should be pursued. We hope that the current measures adopted by the Security Council will not lead to further worsening of the situation in the region. We also hope that dialogue will be resumed and that all forms of sanctions will be cancelled once an agreement is reached among the concerned parties. Still, we believe that this resolution has been formulated in a manner that seeks to avoid making the consequences of sanctions harm the Korean people directly. Therefore, we join the general consensus prevailing in the Council.
