The United Nations General Assembly has adopted two resolutions submitted recently by Egypt on nuclear arms in the Middle East - which for now are apparently confined to Israel's large arsenal, the Arabic News reported.
The first resolution, which was proposed by the Egyptian permanent delegate to the UN, calls upon Israel, which is the only country in the region that has yet to take part in the international nuclear non-proliferation treaty, to join and give the International Agency of Nuclear Energy access to its nuclear installations.
The second resolution, according to the agency, was adopted upon unanimous agreement of all countries with Egyptian President Mubarak's initiative to establish a nuclear-free area in the Middle East, with emphasis on a basic UN role in this effort.
Fayza Abul Naga, Egypt's chief delegate to the UN European seat in Geneva, has said that the current international circumstances highlight the importance of a closer cooperation in disarmament and weapons of mass destruction.
Addressing the fifth revision conference of an agreement banning biological weapons on Wednesday, Abu Naga said Egypt called for banning the production and storage of biological weapons as well as destroying the existing ones and setting up effective mechanisms to that end.
The need to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons was evident from the first days of the nuclear era. On November 15, 1945, the United States, the United Kingdom, and Canada proposed the establishment of a UN Atomic Energy Commission for the purpose of "entirely eliminating the use of atomic energy for destructive purposes." The Baruch plan of 1946, offered by the United States, sought to forestall nuclear arms proliferation by placing all nuclear resources under international ownership and control – Albawaba.com
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