UN calls on Israel to renounce nuclear weapons

The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly approved a resolution calling on Israel to renounce possession of nuclear weapons and put its nuclear facilities under international oversight.

The resolution, which was presented by Egypt and backed by Arab countries, was approved with 161 votes for and only five against. Israel is the only Middle Eastern country that is not party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, and the resolution called on Israel to “accede to that treaty without further delay, not to develop, produce test or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons, to renounce possession of nuclear weapons, and put its nuclear facilities under the safeguard of the UN’s International Atomic Energy Agency.”

Eighteen countries abstained from the vote.

The resolution, entitled “The risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East”, demanded the establishment of a nuclear weapons-free zone in the Middle East and expressed disappointment over the failure of the US efforts to convene talks on this issue in 2012.

The resolutions of the UN General Assembly are not legally binding but they carry moral weight because it is the only body where all 193 United Nations Member States are represented.