On May 28, states parties at the Eighth Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) issued a consensus document. The most contentious part dealt with the issue of a nuclear weapons free zone in the Middle East, raising the question: can the region really be free of WMD?
Background of Regional Arms Control Talks
In the autumn of 1991, the Madrid Peace Conference agreed to proceed with bilateral and multilateral meetings in the Middle East on water, refugees, economic development, the environment and arms control. Based on the arms control experience between the USSR and NATO, the Arms Control and Regional Security (ACRS) working group was established and held meetings between 1992 and 1995 with the view that incremental steps to arms control tended to precede formal arms control measures. Making much more progress than predicted, ACRS drafted a statement with a declaration of principles for regional security and arms control; the creation of a regional security center; the establishment of a communications network; the production of a Pre-notification of Certain Military Activities agreement; an Exchange of Military Activities document; and a number of maritime confidence-building measures. The statement however was never formally adopted as the issue of arms control continued to stall progress, particularly the ongoing disagreement between Israel and Egypt over at what point to discuss WMD in the Middle East.
At the 1995 NPT Review Conference, States Parties (Israel not one of them) adopted a Resolution on the Middle East which called upon all states of the Middle East to accede to the Treaty as soon as possible and to accept IAEA full-scope safeguards. Adopted without a vote, the resolution endorsed the objective aims of the Middle East peace process and called upon states in the region to take practical steps towards the establishment of a Middle East Zone free of WMD.
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