In a statement before the Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) in Geneva, the State of Qatar asserts that the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of these weapons
The State of Qatar stressed that the hopes of the NPT Review Conference of 2020 were to eliminate nuclear weapons completely as the only absolute guarantee against the use or threat of use of such weapons, noting that the Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, approved by the United Nations and adopted by 122 States last year is a positive step in line with the State of Qatar's call for a ban on weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons.
H.E. Sheikh Ali Bin Jassim Al-Thani, Permanent Representative of the State of Qatar to United Nations Organizations in Vienna, said in a statement during the second session of the Preparatory Committee for the 20th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons held in Geneva that the current international situation has become severe because of the complexity of international and regional crises, as the belief in the role of nuclear weapons in military and security doctrines is reinforced in several countries, increasing the likelihood of a catastrophic nuclear accident under this global tension.
H.E. added that these negative developments call for the adoption of initiatives and steps of multilateral international diplomacy that will reduce this tension and restore confidence in joint international action for the achievement of international peace and security. The field of nuclear disarmament and control of the arms race remains the best way to achieve this goal.
The Qatari Ambassador went on to say: In spite of the 50 years since the signing of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the efforts of the United Nations, we are still far from achieving tangible progress in the three pillars of the Treaty because of the discriminatory nature of the Treaty. Nuclear weapons in many nuclear states rather than the complete elimination of them, which has prompted the international community to reject these weapons and warn of their danger to humanity.
H.E. explained that this was clearly reflected during the Conference on the Humanitarian Implications of the Use of Nuclear Weapons, which was first held in Oslo in 2013 and became an annual tradition in several countries because of the consequences of these dangerous weapons and the associated risks to humanity, but at the same time it has become a driving force in multilateral nuclear disarmament discussions.
H.E. reviewed the efforts of the State of Qatar and its contributions to the international efforts to denuclearize. He said that the State of Qatar is one of the countries that adopt the Austrian Treaty on the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons and cooperates with all relevant stakeholders in all efforts to prevent and eliminate nuclear weapons and to establish a world free of such weapons.
On the peaceful uses of nuclear energy in the Middle East, H.E. affirmed that the State of Qatar stresses the importance of the development of peaceful nuclear energy programs in a deliberate manner, while complying with comprehensive safeguards measures of the IAEA to achieve the highest standards of safety, security and nuclear radiological safety for the whole region.
H.E. also referred to the efforts of the State of Qatar in the promotion of international peace and security. In this regard, he referred to joining all the treaties banning weapons of mass destruction (nuclear, chemical and biological) and internationally prohibited weapons, including the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Adopted in 2009, ratified the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), acceded to the Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material in 2003, ratified the Convention in 2014, and ratified the Convention against Nuclear Terrorism.
H.E. pointed out the efforts exerted by the State of Qatar to fulfill its obligations arising from these treaties through the enactment of national legislation, including the enactment of a law on the accounting and control of nuclear materials and how to deal with them , in order to prevent their access to the hands of the outlaws and use them in the manufacture of nuclear weapons.