Disarmament and Non-Proliferation

​​ Egypt and ​Disarmament


I.     Weapons of Mass Destruction

  1. Nuclear disarmament remains a key priority for Egypt both regionally and internationally. For decades, Egypt has played a key role in the advancement of nuclear disarmament, within the Nuclear Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) framework, as an obligation which Nuclear Weapon States are expected to fulfill, consistent with their unequivocal undertaking as stipulated in  Article VI of the NPT.
  2. Egypt attaches the highest priority to global, non-discriminatory, verifiable nuclear disarmament and the complete elimination of nuclear weapons in a time bound manner. It strongly endorses the negotiation of a legally binding instrument that would realize the total and irreversible elimination of nuclear weapons within a specified framework of time, under effective multilateral verification and control. In this line, Egypt has fully supported endeavors to commence negotiations on a Convention on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
  3. Egypt views with concern that the doctrine of nuclear deterrence continues to feature highly in the security calculus and security doctrines of Nuclear Weapon States, with several states reaffirming their belief that nuclear weapons are the ultimate guarantee of their security. The continuous efforts to pursue programs to modernize stockpiles of nuclear weapons signals their long term reliance on nuclear weapons. The continued possession by nuclear weapon states of nuclear arsenals for deterrence purposes, the development of new generations of such weapons, and the continued deployment of nuclear weapons in territories of non-nuclear weapon states through nuclear sharing arrangements continues to undermine the objectives of the NPT.
  4. Egypt is concerned at the threat posed by the continued existence of nuclear weapons to humanity and reaffirms that the total elimination of nuclear weapons is the only guarantee against the use or threat of use of nuclear weapons. Egypt calls upon all non NPT-States to accede immediately and without preconditions to the NPT as non-nuclear weapon states and to place all their nuclear facilities under comprehensive IAEA safeguards. This is essential in achieving the universality of the NPT which represents the cornerstone of the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation regime.
  5. Egypt supports the objective and purpose of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test Ban Treaty (CTBT) in prohibiting and preventing nuclear weapon test explosions and any other nuclear explosion as a step towards nuclear disarmament. Egypt was among the first countries to sign the CTBT with a view to halt the qualitative development of nuclear weapons.
  6. Egypt has signed and ratified the Geneva 1925 Protocol for the Prohibition of the Use in War of Asphyxiating, Poisonous or Other Gases and was among the leading nations to sign the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention of 1972.

 

II.  Establishment of a zone free of Nuclear Weapons and all other Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East

  1. For decades, Egypt exerted relentless efforts to achieve the total elimination of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. Due to Egypt's recognition of the unacceptable inhumane consequences of these weapons and the profound belief that weapons of mass destruction can only fuel instability, Egypt has been at the forefront calling for the establishment of a zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East. It has continuously strived to achieve this goal, not simply as a security necessity, but also to follow in line with several other regions which succeeded in establishing nuclear weapon free zones. The Middle East should be no exception.
  2. The Middle East has, and will, continue to have a special status within the NPT framework and its Review Process. The 1995 Resolution on the establishment of an effectively verifiable Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, adopted as an essential part of the indefinite extension package, highlighted the essential foundation that the goals of universality and nuclear disarmament represent for the effectiveness and credibility of the Treaty.
  3. More than two decades have elapsed since the 1995 Middle East Resolution was adopted. The resolution remains the only resolution adopted by any of the Review Conferences on a specific regional case, thereby reflecting the centrality and urgency of the issue. To reassert this special status, the 2000 NPT Review Conference reaffirmed the centrality of the Middle East and the 2010 NPT Review Conference called for the convening of a conference on the establishment of a zone free of Nuclear Weapons and all other Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East in 2012.  

 

III.   Peaceful Uses of Nuclear Energy​​

  1. Egypt believes in the promotion of international cooperation in the peaceful uses of nuclear energy and the realization of the inalienable right of all parties to the NPT to develop, research, production, and use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, as stipulated in Article IV of the NPT.
  2. Egypt stresses the obligation of developed countries to promote the legitimate need of developing countries to nuclear energy by fully respecting this right with a view to achieving the widest benefits to promote sustainable development. Any measure aiming at hampering, fully or partly, the fullest exercise of these inalienable rights would seriously jeopardize the delicate balance between rights and obligations in the NPT, in contravention with the Treaty's objective, and widens the gap between developed and developing countries in this field.  
  3. Egypt views with concern efforts by certain discriminatory arrangements to impose additional restrictions in the field of peaceful uses of nuclear energy, in a manner that could be politicized and does not contribute to the realization of the NPT's objectives.​

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IV.   Conventional Weapons​​​

  1. Egypt believes that the United Nations Program of Action to Prevent, Combat, and Eradicate the Illicit Trade in Small Arms and Light Weapons provides a clear framework for the international community's action in combatting the illicit trade in these weapons. The Program of Action outlines a set of measures to be adopted nationally to combat the illicit trade in small arms and light weapons, enhanced by regional and sub-regional support, as well as the assistance extended by the international community to enable states in the implementation of these commitments.
  2. Egypt began implementing many aspects of the United Nations Program of Action prior to its adoption in July 2001. Egyptian law regulates the manufacture of and trade in small arms and light weapons and sets out the procedures followed by State institutions to curb the illicit trade in such arms and weapons. In implementing the Program of Action, Egypt fully observes the principles of international law and the Charter of the United Nations.​