Arab Group calls for holding the postponed 2012 ME WMDFZ conference within 180 days of the conclusion of the 2015 NPT RevCon

In the working paper submitted at the 2015 NPT RevCon, the Arab Group outlined what the mandate of the conference should be and how its work should be organized, most notably that it should take its terms of reference from the 1995 Resolution on the Middle East; include two working groups, one “dealing with the scope, geographic demarcation of the zone, prohibitions and interim measures” and the second “dealing with verification measures and implementation mechanisms.” The working paper also called on Israel to join the NPT.

In its statement at Main Committee II, Iran expressed its disappointment with the decision not to hold the 2012 ME WMDFZ conference, saying that it “strongly rejects all justifications raised by certain conveners for not convening the Conference” and that the postponement “violates the collective agreement of the States parties reached at the 2010 Review Conference and contravenes the letter and spirit of the 1995 Resolution on the Middle East.”