SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
UN Calls for Israel to 'Renounce Nuclear Weapons'
Resolution urging Israel to sign onto the nuclear non-proliferation treaty passes General Assembly in landslide vote
Dec 03, 2014
The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday demanding that Israel "renounce possession of nuclear weapons" and open its arms to global regulation.
The measure, which is non-binding, was approved 161 to 5, with the United States, Canada, Palau, Micronesia, and Israel voting "no" and 18 countries abstaining.
Israel is the only Middle Eastern country that refuses to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, with India, Pakistan, and North Korea also declining.
While Israel does not publicly acknowledge its nuclear arsenal, its existence is widely known. A report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute this summer found that Israel unlawfully owns 80 nuclear warheads, making it the only Middle Eastern nuclear power.
Introduced by Egypt, the resolution calls for Israel to "accede to [the non-proliferation treaty] without further delay, not to develop, produce test or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons, to renounce possession of nuclear weapons." It also urges the state to subject itself to regulation by the International Atomic Energy Agency of the UN.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday demanding that Israel "renounce possession of nuclear weapons" and open its arms to global regulation.
The measure, which is non-binding, was approved 161 to 5, with the United States, Canada, Palau, Micronesia, and Israel voting "no" and 18 countries abstaining.
Israel is the only Middle Eastern country that refuses to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, with India, Pakistan, and North Korea also declining.
While Israel does not publicly acknowledge its nuclear arsenal, its existence is widely known. A report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute this summer found that Israel unlawfully owns 80 nuclear warheads, making it the only Middle Eastern nuclear power.
Introduced by Egypt, the resolution calls for Israel to "accede to [the non-proliferation treaty] without further delay, not to develop, produce test or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons, to renounce possession of nuclear weapons." It also urges the state to subject itself to regulation by the International Atomic Energy Agency of the UN.
Sarah Lazare
Sarah Lazare is the editor of Workday Magazine and a contributing editor for In These Times. She is a former Staff Writer at Common Dreams. She comes from a background in independent journalism for publications including The Intercept, The Nation, and Tom Dispatch.
The United Nations General Assembly overwhelmingly passed a resolution on Tuesday demanding that Israel "renounce possession of nuclear weapons" and open its arms to global regulation.
The measure, which is non-binding, was approved 161 to 5, with the United States, Canada, Palau, Micronesia, and Israel voting "no" and 18 countries abstaining.
Israel is the only Middle Eastern country that refuses to sign the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, with India, Pakistan, and North Korea also declining.
While Israel does not publicly acknowledge its nuclear arsenal, its existence is widely known. A report released by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute this summer found that Israel unlawfully owns 80 nuclear warheads, making it the only Middle Eastern nuclear power.
Introduced by Egypt, the resolution calls for Israel to "accede to [the non-proliferation treaty] without further delay, not to develop, produce test or otherwise acquire nuclear weapons, to renounce possession of nuclear weapons." It also urges the state to subject itself to regulation by the International Atomic Energy Agency of the UN.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.