Israel urged to renounce nuclear weapons by UN members

Israel urged by 153 UN states to renounce nuclear weapons

The resolution reflected a similar vote which the UNGA voted in favour of in 2019.

2 min read

08 December, 2020

Israel has never admitted to owning nuclear arms [Getty/ Archive]

The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) on Monday voted 153-6 in favour of a resolution that urged to "renounce possession of ", with 25 abstentions.

Last year the same resolution passed 152-6, with 24 abstentions.

The UNGA also urged Israel "not to develop, produce, test or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons" and to "place all its un-safeguarded nuclear facilities under full-scope Agency safeguards as an important confidence-building measure among all States of the region and as a step towards enhancing peace and security".

Israel has never admitted to developing nuclear arms, but is presumed to be among the world's nine nuclear powers.

China, France, Russia, the United Kingdom, the United States, India, Pakistan and North Korea also have a nuclear arsenal.

India, Pakistan, North Korea and Israel are not signatories to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

The 1968 NPT is considered the bedrock of nuclear arms control since the Cold War and formed the basis of Iran's 2015 nuclear deal with the United States and other world powers.

Monday's UN resolution, entitled "The Risk of Nuclear Proliferation in the Middle East", was sponsored by the Palestinian Authority, Egypt, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Oman and the United Arab Emirates, among other states.

Only Canada, Israel, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Palau and the United States opposed the resolution.

The states which abstained from the motion were Albania, Australia, Belgium, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Ethiopia, France, Georgia, Germany, Hungary, India, Italy, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Panama, Poland, Romania and the United Kingdom.

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