On behalf of the member countries of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM), Iran's ambassador to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) called for total elimination of nuclear weapons in the world, as envisaged by the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Reza Najafi made the call on Friday while reading out the NAM statement at the ongoing 2015 Review Conference of the NPT in New York, in the US, IRNA reported. The statement emphasized full nuclear disarmament as a significant constituent of the treaty. The NPT "is not only confined to nonproliferation of nuclear weapons, but it also obliges all states that conduct nuclear activity to take measures to eliminate nuclear weapons."
Referring to an advisory opinion issued by the International Court of Justice (ICJ), which rules out the use of nuclear weapons or threat to use them as violation of international law, the statement said that making use of nuclear arms is considered a "crime against humanity" and the sole guarantee for not using them is their complete eradication. The statement also expressed deep concerns of NAM states over the military doctrine of NATO and some other states, which are based on 'nuclearization policy'. Voicing concern over the lack of progress made in the fulfillment of disarmament commitments by nuclear states, the statement said, "Unlimited extension of the NPT does not mean that nuclear weapons can be kept forever."
The statement also said under no circumstances, none of the countries that conduct nuclear activity has the right to threaten other signatories to the NPT, until total nuke-disarmament is achieved. The Islamic Republic, on behalf of the NAM states, presented 20 specific proposals for the full elimination of nuclear weapons and called for their inclusion in the final report, which is to be submitted at the end of the 2015 Review Conference of the NPT.
