Behind-the-scenes campaign to protect Israel nuclear power from scrutiny
Mohammed El Baradei, head of the IAEA. The Nobel Peace Prize 2005 was awarded jointly to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and Mohamed ElBaradei “for their efforts to prevent nuclear energy from being used for military purposes and to ensure that nuclear energy for peaceful purposes is used in the safest possible way”. A decision which did not please the governments of the USA, or Israel.
UN nuclear assembly rejects Arab bid criticizing Israel’s ‘atomic arsenal’
Three-month long Israeli diplomatic campaign foils Arab League proposal calling on Israel to join global anti-nuclear weapons pact.
By Barak Ravid, Haaretz
September 25, 2014
Member states of the International Atomic Energy Agency have rejected a resolution initiated by Arab League nations criticizing Israel’s alleged nuclear abilities.
The resolution, which is non-binding, condemns Israel, and calls on it to join the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and make its nuclear facilities subject to international supervision. The vote was 58 to 45 against the text. Many representatives chose not to attend the vote.
A senior official in the Foreign Ministry noted that Arab League nations made a special effort this year to pass the resolution, which was rejected last year as well, in the wake of unproductive talks between Israel and Arab states over a proposed a summit for a nuclear-free Middle East. Finland’s Under-secretary of State, Jaakko Laajava, facilitator of the proposed talks, has attended informal meetings between the sides in Switzerland.
During the five rounds of negotiations, Israel presented a series of preconditions for opening multi-lateral talks over regional peace in the Middle East. Though Western states accepted the Israeli initiative, viewing it as a sound base for negotiations, the Arab states dismissed the preconditions out of hand, refused to discuss the matter further and started pushing forward the resolution condemning Israel for its alleged nuclear arsenal.
For the last three months the Foreign Ministry and the Israel’s nuclear agency made a global diplomatic effort to foil the Arab nations’ efforts. All of Israel’s diplomatic missions worldwide were brought on board, and Israeli ambassadors raised the issue with the highest officials in their respective countries.
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman and Defense Minister Moshe Ya’alon also joined the efforts, calling up their counterparts around the globe to convince them to vote against the resolution.
The Foreign Ministry sent envoys to several key nations to enlist their support, or at least to make sure they abstain or leave the hall during the vote. For instance, the ministry covertly sent former ambassador Pinhas Avivi to Latin America. Avivi, who served as a deputy director in charge of multilateral issues until his retirement last year, met with senior officials in the governments of Brazil, Argentina, Chile and Peru, asking for their support.
In addition, Deputy Foreign Minister Tzachi Hanegbi discussed the issue during a state visit in Myanmar and with officials from Australia and New Zealand, during a Pacific nations summit several weeks ago. Israel has also put in a special effort with a number of African countries, including Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia, all of which eventually voted against the resolution.
A senior official in the Foreign Ministry noted the U.S. administration aided Israel’s efforts. Senior officials in the U.S. State Department were kept apprised by their Israeli counterparts since the beginning of the efforts against the proposed resolution. The American envoy to the IAEA worked closely with the Israeli envoy over the last weeks to raise opposing votes. American ambassadors worldwide were also instructed to relay messages against the Arab resolution.
Lieberman called the rejection of the Arab proposed resolution a “victory of Israeli diplomacy” on Thursday. Rejecting the Arab proposal, he said, “sends an important message which says that the international community will not play along with an attempt to point a finger at Israel.” Lieberman said that everyone, including the Arab nations behind the proposal, knows that Iran’s nuclear program, and not Israel, is a threat to stability in the Middle East and to world peace.
Lieberman added that instead of criticizing Israel, it would be better if the Arab states behind the proposal imagine “what it would happen had Syria been successful in building a nuclear reactor in Deir al-Zour, and if the reactor would have fallen into the hands of the Islamic State group or the Al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front.”
According to foreign reports, the Syrian nuclear reactor was destroyed in an Israel Air Force strike in 2007.
Jerusalem slammed Arab countries after the proposal was rejected. “It seems that only anti-Israel initiatives in international organizations can unite Arab League members,” a statement by the Foreign Ministry said. “Israel remains committed to regional dialogue with its neighbours, in the broadest sense, to the creation of mutual trust, to deal with the challenges of our time and to reach security and regional stability.”
The Foreign Ministry expressed hope that in wake of the resolution’s rejection, “the Arab states behind the proposal will understand the futility of choosing such votes in international bodies over direct dialogue to promote mutual interests in the region.”
Note
{All Israel’s neighbours are member states. Israel and N. Korea are the only known states with nuclear weapons which are not members of the IAEA.)
Total Membership: 162 (as of February 2014)
Eighteen ratifications were required to bring the IAEA’s Statute into force on 29 July 1957.
In the list below, the year denotes year of membership. The names of States are not necessarily their historical designations.
1957: Afghanistan, Albania, Argentina, Australia, Austria, Belarus, Brazil, Bulgaria, Canada, Cuba, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Haiti, Holy See, Hungary, Iceland, India, Indonesia, Israel, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Monaco, Morocco, Myanmar, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Socialist Federal Rep. of Yugoslavia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Switzerland, Thailand, Tunisia, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States, Venezuela, Viet Nam
1958: Belgium, Ecuador, Finland, Iran, Luxembourg, Mexico, Philippines, Sudan
1959: Iraq
1960: Chile, Colombia, Ghana, Senegal
1961: Lebanon, Mali, Democratic Republic of the Congo
1962: Liberia, Saudi Arabia
1963: Algeria, Bolivia, Côte d’Ivoire, Libya, Syria, Uruguay
1964: Cameroon, Gabon, Kuwait, Nigeria
1965: Costa Rica, Cyprus, Jamaica, Kenya, Madagascar
1966: Jordan, Panama
1967: Sierra Leone, Singapore, Uganda
1968: Liechtenstein
1969: Malaysia, Niger, Zambia
1970: Ireland
1972: Bangladesh
1973: Mongolia
1974: Mauritius
1976: Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Tanzania
1977: Nicaragua
1983: Namibia
1984: China
1986: Zimbabwe
1992: Estonia, Slovenia
1993: Armenia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Lithuania, Slovakia
1994: The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Kazakhstan, Marshall Islands, Uzbekistan, Yemen
1995: Bosnia and Herzegovina
1996: Georgia
1997: Latvia, Malta, Moldova
1998: Burkina Faso
1999: Angola, Benin
2000: Tajikistan
2001: Azerbaijan, Central African Republic, Serbia
2002: Eritrea, Botswana
2003: Honduras, Seychelles, Kyrgyzstan
2004: Mauritania
2005: Chad
2006: Belize, Malawi, Montenegro, Mozambique
2007: Cabo Verde*
2008: Nepal, Palau
2009: Bahrain, Burundi, Cambodia, Congo, Lesotho, Oman
2011: Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Tonga*
2012: Dominica, Fiji, Papua New Guinea, Rwanda, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago
2013: San Marino, Swaziland
2014: Bahamas, Brunei Darussalam, Comoros*, Djibouti*, Guyana*, Vanuatu*Total Membership: 162 (As of February 2014)
The Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK), which joined the IAEA in 1974, withdrew its membership of the IAEA in 1994.
* For the following States (which appear in the list in italics), membership has been approved by the IAEA General Conference and will take effect once the State deposits the necessary legal instruments with the IAEA: Cabo Verde, Comoros, Djibouti, Guyana, Tonga and Vanuatu.