Statement by Minister TANINAI Ichitomo at the IAEA Board of Governors Meeting starting on Monday, 9 September 2024 Item 12: Application of IAEA safeguards in the Middle East

2024/9/12
Thank you, Chair,
 
Japan has been emphasizing for a long time that all States not party to the NPT should accede to the NPT as non-nuclear-weapon States, and should conclude a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement and an Additional Protocol with the IAEA. In this regard, Japan has been supporting the General Conference resolution entitled “Application of IAEA Safeguards in the Middle East”, which calls upon all States in the region to accede to the NPT.
  
Chair,

Japan remains convinced that the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction, based on the Middle East Resolution of the 1995 NPT Review Conference, would contribute to the progress in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, as well as the strengthening of regional, and global, peace and security. Japan acknowledges developments at the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons convened most recently in November 2023.
 
Japan hopes that the three co-sponsors of the Resolution will exert their leadership and that the entire NPT community will proactively engage in this issue. Japan will continue to support the goal of realizing a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction, at the earliest possible date.
 
With these comments, Japan takes note of the Director General’s report entitled “Application of IAEA safeguards in the Middle East” (GOV/2024/46-GC(68)/14).

Thank you, Chair.