League of Arab States registers its objection to the Gulf Cooperation Council Gulf WMDFZ initiative

In a letter to the GCC Secretary-General, the LAS Secretary-General expressed his concern at the informal seminars taking place to explore the idea of establishing a Gulf WMDFZ. He noted that a treaty covering only the Gulf Arab states and Iran could undermine wider Arab efforts to establish the Middle East as a region free of all WMD. Rather it “must take place in the context of a comprehensive regional vision of security and stability, not via selective dealing, whether on the basis of a sub-regionalism that lacks strategic depth, or in a selective manner that corroborates the possession of nuclear weapons by one state - Israel. This will rescue Israel from the political siege represented by the principle of founding a region free of WMD in the entire Middle East.” The idea to establish a WMDFZ in the Gulf region (GWMDFZ) emerged within the Research Department of the Gulf Research Center (GRC) in Dubai, UAE. The first meeting was held in December 2004 to present the project. Further meetings were organized by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in May 2005 and by the Verification Research, Training and Information Centre (VERTIC) in May 2006 to further explored the GWMDFZ initiative.

Photo credit: UN Photo/Evan Schneider

Amre Moussa, Secretary-General of the League of Arab States. May 11, 2007