Nukewatch Quarterly Summer 2020
Egypt issued a joint statement with 16 countries demanding the elimination of nuclear weapons to mark the 50th anniversary of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT). The declaration was presented by Egypt, Malaysia, Austria, New Zealand, Ireland, Brazil, Mexico, South Africa, Indonesia, Nigeria, Algeria, Morocco, Thailand, Chile, Ecuador, Costa Rica, and the Philippines, representing 1.15 billion of the world’s people.
The timing of the joint statement also marked the decision to establish a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.
Egypt’s representative to the UN, Mohamed Edrees said that the statement includes clear and strong guidelines on the necessity for nuclear weapons states to comply with the NPT’s obligations. The statement pointed out that the coronavirus pandemic has clearly revealed many countries are investing resources on nuclear arsenals and their modernization, at the expense of economic or healthcare development.
“There should be international cooperation to counter such international cross-border crises, rather than spending on activities that pose an existential threat to humanity,” the statement added. – JL
—MENAFN, Alnaasher.com, and Daily News Egypt, May 20, 2020
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