Diplomats at the 2012 NPT Preparatory Committee have been discussing an extraordinary range of issues, but the highlight of this week’s agenda was Jaakko Laajava, Finnish Ambassador and facilitator of the 2012 Conference on a WMD free zone in the Middle East, on Tuesday morning giving his first official presentation of his consultations throughout the past seven months.
Non-Proliferation and Disarmament in the Middle East
Themes arising from the BASIC Workshop in Doha
About 50 participants – representatives of Gulf states and experts from the region, and U.S. and European experts and officials, exchanged views on Nuclear Non-Proliferation in the Gulf during a conference on March 21st and 22nd. The workshop highlighted a number of themes, including: justice and rights, disarmament, universality and the health of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, and Iran.
Nuclear chief Blix allays any fear of disasters
An article in The National cites remarks from Hans Blix and Bahraini representative Abdullah Abdul Latif Abdullah regarding the different regional impacts of nuclear safety and Iran's Bushehr reactor. The remarks were made during BASIC's conference on Nuclear Non-Proliferation in the Gulf.
Hans Blix opens first day of nuclear non-proliferation conference in Qatar
Hans Blix delivered the keynote address for a BASIC conference on Nuclear Non-Proliferation in the Gulf. The former chief U.N. weapons inspector for Iraq and chair of the WMD Commission warned of the dangers from nuclear weapons and material, and called for greater inter-governmental cooperation and transparency.
BASIC in Doha – Conference on Nuclear Non-Proliferation in the Gulf
From March 21-22, 2012: BASIC organised a two-day conference at the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service in Qatar, in association with the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Qatar Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Nuclear Non-Proliferation in the Gulf
On Wednesday and Thursday, BASIC is holding a timely conference in Doha, Qatar, on “Nuclear Non-Proliferation in the Gulf”. It comes the week before President Obama meets with world leaders in South Korea for the second Nuclear Security Summit of his presidency, and the month before the resumption of the diplomatic cycle culminating in the 2015 Review Conference of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.
BASIC in Cairo – Preparing for the 2012 conference
BASIC and the Egyptian Council for Foreign Affairs held a conference in Cairo on January 29th 2012 on “Preparing for the 2012 conference: towards a zone free of nuclear weapons and all other WMD in the Middle East.”
Workshop on WMD-free zone in Middle East
Plans are afoot for a major conference next year on a WMD Free Zone in the Middle East. BASIC held a small workshop in Malta for officials and experts in the region on the key issues involved, and here we publish the facilitator’s key issues from the meeting.