al-Jaafari: Preserving National Security an Internationally Guaranteed right

NEW YORK, (ST)- Syria fully supports the global tendency towards establishing a world that is free of the use or the threat of both nuclear and traditional powers, Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari  said. However, he added “continuous attempts by major countries to arm Israel with all kinds of Mass Destruction Weapons (WMD) and traditional arms hinder the realization of peace and the establishment of a free-nuclear region.”

In a statement yesterday during the debate of the UN General Assembly’s First Committee on Disarmament and International Security Affairs, al-Jaafari highlighted Syria’s confrontation of the war waged against her by armed terrorist groups, mercenaries and extremist Jihadist groups, urging member states to commit themselves to related international charters and agreements, and to stop the smuggling of gunmen and both lethal and non-lethal arms across Syria’s borders with neighboring countries.

 “My country’s delegation fully supports the global tendency to establish  a world where there is no place for the use or the threat of nuclear or traditional power…A world where the principles of the UN charter based on justice and equality and peace among nations and peoples are really prevailing. We also confirm our readiness to share every honest international effort to realize these noble goals.”

Al-Jaafari pointed out that preserving the national security is a right guaranteed to all countries by UN Charter. It is not a privilege given to some countries to justify their non-commitment to the principle of nuclear non-proliferation or disarmament, stressing that the world faces many challenges with the danger of WMD proliferation comes at the top.

al-Jaafari went on to say that after more than four decades of ratifying the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), it becomes necessary that the nuclear countries commit themselves, under the provision of article 6 of the treaty,  to work seriously to rid the world of this great danger.

Israel’s Continuous Armament Doesn’t Help Peace Settlement

 “The incessant attempts by major powers to arm Israel with all kinds of WMD  and most lethal traditional weapons and to help it manufacture various high-tech arms don’t serve the attainment of peace and the establishment of a nuclear and WMD-free zone in the Middle East,” al-Jaafari said.

He pointed out that some nuclear countries have provided Israel with high nuclear technology for decades and that these countries continue to protect Israel’s nuclear exception in an open violation of the NPT articles, thereby allowing Israel to manufacture and produce nuclear weapons that threaten the security and stability of not only the Middle East but of the world at large.

He warned against the unjustified silence of the international community regarding Israel’s open announcement of possessing WMD and its threats to use these weapons, pointing out that this suspicious silence confirms some countries’ collusion in protecting Israel from the outcomes of ignoring international obligations.

“Syria is deeply concerned over the so far failure of NPT review conferences in adopting a specified obligatory timetable for nuclear countries to completely give up their nuclear arsenal,” al-Jaafari pointed out.

He stressed that the recommendations of the NPT review conference of 2010 on establishing a nuclear-free zone in the ME necessitates from the international community to press towards achieving this goal through pressuring Israel to join the NPT and to subject its nuclear facilities to the International Atomic Energy Agency’s observation.

“Most countries of the world are looking forward to making a success of the conference on establishing a nuclear and WMD-free zone in the Middle East scheduled to be held in Finland’s capital Helsinki late this year. However, Israel seems to intend escaping the implementation of the NPT review conference of 2010 and to foil the Helsinki conference,” al-Jaafari said, stressing that the international community should pressure Israel to participate in this conference being the only party which possesses nuclear weapon in the ME.

Syria is witnessing painful events due to terrorist acts perpetrated by armed extremist groups and mercenaries

 “My country is experiencing painful events due to the horrible acts of armed terrorist groups, mercenaries and Jihadists who have infiltrated into Syria through borders and who perpetrated criminal acts based on Takfiri and extremist Fatwas issued by some provocative parties abroad,” al-Jaafari said.

He added “these suicidal groups used to use booby-trapped cars, explosive belts or explosive devices in addition to many kinds of weapons to target the Syrian citizens, infrastructure and vital institutions in order to terrorize the people, destroy the state and push towards a civil war and foreign military intervention under the pretext of protecting civilians.”

He affirmed that the terrorist acts hitting Syria couldn’t be carried out without enough funding, arms supplies from abroad or without political and media coverage of the terrorists’ activities in Syria.”

al-Jaafari regretted that some Arab, regional and international countries’ open and intentional support for armed terrorist groups, including those affiliated to al-Qaeda, to carry out criminal acts in Syria for political goals.

Concluding his statement, Dr. al-Jaafari urged the UN General Assembly’s member states to shoulder their responsibilities, commit themselves to related international conventions and agreements and work seriously to stop the smuggling of gunmen, weapons and related materials through Syria’s borders with neighboring countries.

Hamda Moustafa