New York — October 22, 2026

First Committee – 81st Session of the United Nations General Assembly: Thematic Discussion on Cluster 6 (Regional Disarmament and Security)

Unofficial Translation

Libya Statement on behalf of the Arab Group

Delivered by Mr. Abdullah M O Aletwi, Second Secretary, Permanent Mission of the State of Libya to the United Nations

 

 

Mr. Chair,

The Arab Group wishes to recall the relationship between the maintenance of international peace and security, on the one hand, and disarmament and arms control efforts at the regional level, particularly nuclear disarmament and the elimination of other weapons of mass destruction, on the other. We also recall Article VII of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons regarding the right of States to conclude regional arrangements to assure the total absence of nuclear weapons in their territories.

While nuclear-weapon-free zones are no substitute for achieving the goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons, the Group values the efforts made through the five existing nuclear-weapon-free zones, as well as Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free status, and welcomes their positive and valuable contribution to peace and security. The Group also commends the adoption of General Assembly resolution 79/241 on updating the comprehensive United Nations study on nuclear-weapon-free zones, as well as the report issued on the work of the Group.

The Arab Group affirms the central importance of establishing a zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, and stresses the need to take concrete and immediate steps to achieve this goal, which was endorsed by paragraph 63 of the Final Document of the First Special Session of the General Assembly devoted to Disarmament and by the relevant Security Council and General Assembly resolutions. This goal embodies the purposes and principles of the Charter of the United Nations and international law, and it is also what is called for in the resolution submitted annually by the Arab Group, entitled “The risk of nuclear proliferation in the Middle East”. We look forward to the international community’s continued support for this important resolution, as in previous years.

The Arab Group reiterates that the Resolution on the Middle East adopted by the 1995 Review and Extension Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is an integral part of the package for the indefinite extension of the Treaty. The Group calls upon the three co-sponsors of that resolution to shoulder their responsibility for its implementation and to move forward with the necessary follow-up measures. The Group also renews its determination to do its utmost to achieve a Middle East free of all weapons of mass destruction, thereby strengthening the prospects for peace and security in one of the regions of the world most exposed to conflict and instability.

Mr. Chair,

The Arab Group welcomes the convening of six sessions of the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction, pursuant to General Assembly decision 73/546, and the valuable deliberations and reports they have produced. The Group urges all parties invited to the Conference, whether as members or observers, to participate in its upcoming session in November 2026.

The Arab States have upheld their share of responsibility and good faith; it remains for the other parties to assume their responsibilities. In this regard, the Arab Group expresses its deep concern over the continuing threat posed by the Israeli occupation authorities’ persistent refusal to accede to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, as the only party in the Middle East that has not acceded to the Treaty and that refuses to place its nuclear facilities under the comprehensive safeguards regime of the International Atomic Energy Agency.

Thank you.