UN backs nuke-free Middle East vision

THE 189 member nations of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty have adopted a detailed plan toward disarmament, including a proposal to ban weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.

The 28-page final declaration was approved at a weekend meeting at the United Nations in New York.

The five recognised nuclear-weapon states – the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China – have committed themselves to speed up arms reductions, take other steps to diminish the importance of atomic weapons, and report on progress by 2014.

The final document also calls for convening a conference in 2012 "on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction".

The idea of a WMD-free zone is designed to pressure Israel, which is not a signatory to the treaty, to give up its undeclared nuclear arsenal. US officials have questioned whether Israel could be persuaded to attend.

US national security adviser General James Jones said the US has "serious reservations" about the conference and "deplores" the decision to single out Israel in the Middle East section of the document. As a co-sponsor of the 2012 conference, he said, the US will ensure that it will only takes place "if and when all countries feel confident that they can attend".

He said: "Because of (the] gratuitous way that Israel has been singled out, the prospect for a conference in 2012 that involves all key states in the region is now in doubt."

Iran and Syria had dissented on various points in the final hours, but no objections were raised in the concluding session. After the declaration's approval, Iran's chief delegate Ali Asghar Soltanieh joined the others in hearty applause.

"All eyes the world over are watching us," the conference president, Libran Cabactulan of the Philippines, said.