Since the first and the only use of nuclear weapons in armed conflicts took place in 1945, the world has spent millions of hours and consumed tonnes of papers discussing ways and means to get rid of nuclear weapons and making the world a global zero zone. The dropping of a uranium gun-type device, code-named Little Boy on Hiroshima on August 6, 1945, and on August 9, a plutonium implosion-type device code-named Fat Man on Nagasaki, left millions of people and animals dead, causing long-lasting destruction of natural resources and left a festering wound on the hearts of Japan and the whole world.
Qatar has joined the chorus of countries calling for a permanent ban on nuclear and chemical weapons several years ago and has been relentlessly advocating for the ban and creation of zero zones. Qatar raised its voice on the subject again yesterday during the UN Second Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction, in New York.
The Vice-Chairman of the National Committee for the Prohibition of Weapons (NCPW) Abdulla Ibrahim Al Marzooqi presented Qatar’s proposals to form open-ended working groups to study and develop ideas on verification, control and inspection mechanisms and to identify the elements of the treaty, the protocols to attached and other issue that require study and dialogue. Al Marzooqi said that Qatar believes that the establishment of the free zone is the only initiative that deals with the issues of proliferation of nuclear weapons and other means of mass destruction.
Despite the fact that there are several treaties and international agreements, the efforts to bring in a total ban on the highly destructive weapons are still to achieve tangible results. The Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty is one such agreement which was opened for signature in 1968 and entered into force in 1970, which was extended indefinitely on May 11, 1995.
The Chemical Weapons Convention is another multilateral treaty aimed at banning chemical weapons. CWC negotiations started in 1980 in the UN Conference on Disarmament and was opened for signature on January 13, 1993, which eventually entered into force on April 29, 19997. But the creation of zero zones still remains a distant dream. The countries which possess such weapons should live up to the hope of the world, listen to the voice of peace-advocating countries such as Qatar in making our planet a place were peace and only peace prevail.
