Kuwait calls for subjecting Israel's nuclear facilities to comprehensive safeguards by the International Atomic Energy Agency
Kuwait has reaffirmed the necessity of keeping the issue of “Israel’s nuclear capabilities” on the agenda of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its relevant bodies until serious and effective steps are taken to address this situation. This was stated in a speech delivered by Kuwait’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations and other international organizations in Vienna, Ambassador Fawaz Al-Bursali, during the discussion of the “Other Business” item at the conclusion of the IAEA Board of Governors meeting, held in Vienna from the 7th to the 11th of this month.
Kuwait emphasized the need for the international community to fulfill its responsibilities by urging Israel, the occupying Power, to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and to comply with its provisions, and to subject all its nuclear facilities to the IAEA’s comprehensive safeguards system.
Ambassador Al-Bursali, at the outset of his address, expressed Kuwait’s support for the statements of the Arab Group, as well as Kuwait’s gratitude and support for Qatar’s statement, before addressing several national points.
He reiterated Kuwait’s affirmation of the pivotal role of the IAEA as the competent body for implementing the comprehensive safeguards system and as the primary guarantor of verifying the peaceful nature of nuclear programs.
Kuwait reaffirmed its commitment to establishing a nuclear-weapon-free zone and a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, in accordance with the decision of the 1995 NPT Review Conference and the outcomes of the 2000 and 2010 Review Conferences.
He noted that all countries in the Middle East region are committed to the NPT and the implementation of comprehensive safeguards agreements, with the exception of Israel, the occupying Power, which continues to refuse to subject all its nuclear facilities to the IAEA’s comprehensive safeguards system and rejects any initiative or even serious steps in this direction.
He clarified that this “hinders the Agency’s ability to implement comprehensive safeguards in the Middle East or to establish a nuclear-weapon-free and weapons-of-mass-destruction-free zone in the region.”
Ambassador Al-Bursali stated that “Israel’s intransigence, the occupying Power, is not limited to rejecting initiatives; it continues its non-compliance and violations of resolutions of international legitimacy,” recalling in this context Resolution 487, through which the Security Council called on Israel to subject all its nuclear facilities to IAEA safeguards.
He added that among the relevant resolutions are the decision issued by the 1995 NPT Review Conference, as well as the resolution issued by the IAEA General Conference at its 53rd session, titled “Israel’s Nuclear Capabilities.”
In conclusion, he expressed his anticipation for close cooperation with member states and the IAEA, extending his thanks for the support he has received since his arrival in Vienna at the beginning of this week.
