While we are witnessing ever-more violent clashes on the streets of Cairo, and Egyptians now contemplate their next moves in the long and faltering steps towards democracy, few are now thinking much about the regional efforts to establish a process with the objective of creating a zone free of WMD.
Non-Proliferation and Disarmament in the Middle East
Nuclear Non-proliferation in the Gulf Roundtable Report
This is a themed report arising out of a BASIC roundtable event in Istanbul on March 25th and 26th, a few weeks before the 2013 Preparatory Committee in Geneva. Involving participants from all over the region, including GCC states, Iran, Egypt, Jordan and Turkey, as well as the United States, UK and Germany, this meeting discussed the health of the non-proliferation regime as it affected the Gulf region and placed today’s debates in a longer-term context.
Roundtable on Nuclear Non-Proliferation in the Gulf: Istanbul, 25-26 March 2013
BASIC is hosting its second annual meeting on nuclear non-proliferation in the Gulf this coming Monday and Tuesday. There will be a number of experts and officials attending from the region.
BASIC’s Executive Director, Paul Ingram, says: “States around the Gulf face daunting security challenges, and it is crucial they communicate clearly and unambiguously their intention to seek strong international regimes that prevent nuclear proliferation and strengthen regional security. This can only happen through open and honest dialogue.”
Iraq War anniversary and regional non-proliferation
Today marks the tenth anniversary of the invasion of Iraq. On 19th March, 2003, U.S., U.K., Australian and Polish forces sent forces into Iraq on the grounds of ridding the country of—and preventing their further development of—weapons of mass destruction (WMD).
Conference on Nuclear Non-Proliferation in the Gulf
BASIC hosted its second conference on Nuclear Non-Proliferation in the Gulf in Istanbul, Turkey on March 25-26, 2013.
Russia in the Middle East
With recent regime changes and ongoing conflicts, the Middle East is a major concern for security threats and proliferation of WMD. The international community is heavily involved in the region, but it seems that Russia's goals in and for the Middle East have been scrutinized by Western powers.
Announcements made on the Helsinki ‘2012 Conference’
The long-awaited announcements on the delay to the Helsinki ‘2012 Conference’ on a nuclear and other WMD free zone in the Middle East came out over the weekend from the co-sponsors.
What will be the fate of the Helsinki Conference?
An announcement is widely expected this week that the intergovernmental conference in Helsinki, on the establishment of a nuclear and WMD-free Zone in the Middle East, will be postponed.