For the first time, the resolution on the “Establishment of a Nuclear-weapon-free zone in the region of the Middle East” is adopted without a vote at the UN General Assembly. The draft resolution, submitted by Egypt, called on all states in the Middle East to adhere to the NPT, place all their nuclear activities under IAEA safeguards, and declare that they will not produce, test, acquire, or station nuclear weapons on their territory until a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East is established. A separate draft resolution was also submitted by Israel and included a call for all states in the Middle East and non-nuclear-weapon states adjacent to the region which are not members of a nuclear-weapon-free zone to attend a conference to negotiate a nuclear-weapon-free zone. Despite its reservations, Israel ultimately decided to withdraw its draft resolution and vote in favour of the Egyptian draft resolution “as an earnest of [its] goodwill and support for the idea of the establishment of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East”, thus creating consensus on the resolution.

Photo credit: UN Photo/Yutaka Nagata

Session of the 1984 UN General Assembly