A/RES/53/80
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Treaty as soon as possible and to place all their nuclear facilities under full-scope safeguards of the
International Atomic Energy Agency,
Recalling also the decision on principles and objectives for nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament
adopted by the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons on 11 May 1995,1 in which the Conference urged universal adherence
to the Treaty as an urgent priority and called upon all States not yet party to the Treaty to accede to it at
the earliest date, particularly those States that operate unsafeguarded nuclear facilities,
Noting that, since the adoption of General Assembly resolution 51/48 of 10 December 1996, Israel
remains the only State in the Middle East that has not yet become party to the Treaty on the NonProliferation of Nuclear Weapons,
Concerned about the threats posed by the proliferation of nuclear weapons to the security and stability
of the Middle East region,
Stressing the importance of taking confidence-building measures, in particular the establishment of
a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East, in order to enhance peace and security in the region and
to consolidate the global non-proliferation regime,
Noting the adoption of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty3 and its signature by one
hundred and eighty-seven States, including a number of States in the region,
1. Calls upon the only State in the region that is not party to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation
of Nuclear Weapons2 to accede to the Treaty without further delay and not to develop, produce, test or
otherwise acquire nuclear weapons, and to renounce possession of nuclear weapons, and to place all its
unsafeguarded nuclear facilities under full-scope International Atomic Energy Agency safeguards as an
important confidence-building measure among all States of the region and as a step towards enhancing
peace and security;
2. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the General Assembly at its fifty-fourth session on
the implementation of the present resolution;
3. Decides to include in the provisional agenda of its fifty-fourth session the item entitled “The risk
of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East”.
79th plenary meeting
4 December 1998
3
See resolution 50/245.