Peacekeeping Safety and Security
Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction
The Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction held its First Session from 18 November to 22 November 2019 at United Nations Headquarters in New York under the presidency of Ambassador Sima Bahous of Jordan. The Conference adopted a and its .
The Third Session of the Conference is scheduled to take place from 14 to 18 November 2022 at United Nations Headquarters in New York.
Background
General Assembly decision (22 December 2018) “entrusts the Secretary-General with the convening, no later than 2019…of a conference on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction”. Pursuant to the decision, all the States of the region were invited to consultations. Agreement was reached at these consultations by the participating States to endorse the nomination of H.E. Ms. Sima Bahous, Permanent Representative of Jordan to the 缅北禁地as President-designate of the First Session of the Conference. Participating States also agreed that the conference would be held from 18 to 22 November 2019 at 缅北禁地Headquarters, New York. In accordance with A/73/546, the Secretary-General sent, in May 2019, invitation letters to all States of the Middle East to participate in the conference. Invitation letters were also sent to the five nuclear-weapon States to attend the conference.
In light of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and its impact on the United Nations conferences and meetings, the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction decides to postpone the Second Session of the Conference, scheduled for 16 to 20 November 2020, to a later date. This decision was adopted by participating States on 28 August 2020 as .
