Iran organized the first International Conference on Disarmament and Non-Proliferation in Teheran on 18 April in response to the Nuclear Security Summit, held recently in Washington, DC. The members and officials from 60 world countries were in attendance. At the conference, supreme leader Ayatollah Khamenei condemned the use of nuclear weapons as 'haram' (illegal) and said that the United States is the 'only country' that has made the 'ultimate nuclear offense' for its atomic attack on Japan.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave a 25-minute opening address at the conference. In his speech, he said the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA)'failed to exercise its duties' for ensuring disarmament, but said that Iran is willing to engage in 'constructive cooperation in managing global disarmament and formulating new rules.' He also called for the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) to be reviewed by impartial 'independent states that have no nuclear weapons,' adding that the "presence of those who have nuclear weapons, especially the US Government, is an obstacle to a fair agreement.
Proposed 15-Point Charter for Reforming NPT
Ali Akbar Salehi, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran condemned double standards and discrimination by nuclear powers against NPT member states, and proposed a 15-point charter for reforming the NPT and enhancing the disarmament regime. He went on to outline 15 proposals for establishing trust and promoting nuclear disarmament, as follows:
1. He slammed what he called the exploitative and Machiavellian approach of some countries. He urged a more coherent approach to disarmament.
2. He called for security-military cooperation at an international level and the acceptance of joint responsibilities.
3. He called for destruction of all nuclear weapons.
4. He called for all nuclear countries to remove nuclear weapons from their defense doctrine.
5. He called for the removal of nuclear weapons from countries that are normally nonnuclear powers but whose territory is used to station atomic weapons.
6. He called for agreements by all nations and governments to commit to nonproliferation.
7. He called for a conference to revise the NPT, and urged that the Geneva Conference on disarmament be charged with issuing a binding convention to implement a strong and clear verification regime.
8. He echoed Jalili's remarks made earlier for a deadline imposed on all nuclear powers to eradicate all their nuclear weapons.
9. He called for all-round efforts by NPT members to create a climate for creating a binding accord for disarmament.
10. He called for all nations to be guaranteed the peaceful use of nuclear technology.
11. He called for an all-round increase in possibilities for nuclear technology exchange and transfer between NPT members.
12. He called for a change in the mechanism of budget-setting within the IAEA, allowing all member-states a fair share of this budget.
13. He called for pressure to be increased on those powers which are outside the NPT to join it and become committed to it, singling out the 'Zionist regime' as a case in point.
14. He called for a change in the double-standards approach under the current regime, in which non-NPT members 'such as Israel' are rewarded, while 'committed' members such as the Islamic Republic are punished.
15. He called for regional and international cooperation and for pressure to be exerted on Israel to join the NPT.
No comments:
Post a Comment