IAEA asked to consider measures to ensure Israel does not attack 'peaceful nuclear facilities'.

IAEA asked to consider measures to ensure Israel does not attack 'peaceful nuclear facilities'

The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has again been asked by the General Assembly to consider "additional measures to ensure that Israel undertakes not to attack or threaten to attack peaceful nuclear facilities in Iraq or elsewhere".

The Assembly acted on 1 November by adopting its resolution 40/6 by a recorded vote of 88 in favour to 13 against (Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, Federal Republic of Germany, Iceland, Israel, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden, United Kingdom, United States), with 39 abstentions.

By the 26-Power text, the Assembly also asked the Security Council to take "urgent and effective measures" to ensure Israel's compliance with Council resolution 487. That resolution was adopted unanimously in 1981 after Israel's 7 June attack of that year on the Tammuz nuclear reactor in Iraq; Israel was called on to place all of its nuclear facilities under IAEA safeguards in accordance with that decision.

The Assembly approved an Iranian amendment to the text adding a provision strongly condemning "all military attacks on all nuclear installations dedicated to peaceful purposes, including the military attacks by Israel on the nuclear facilities of Iraq". The recorded vote on the amendment was 79 in favour to 2 against (Israel, United States), with 50 abstentions.

The Assembly also considered that Israel had not yet committed itself not to attack or threaten to attack nuclear facilities in Iraq or elsewhere, including facilities under IAEA safeguards.

Reaffirming that Iraq was entitled to compensation for the damage it had suffered as a result of the Israeli attack, the Assembly urged Member States to provide necessary technical assistance to Iraq to restore its peaceful nuclear programme and to overcome damage caused by the Israeli attack.

States and organizations that had not yet done so were called on to discontinue co-operating with the assisting Israel in the nuclear field. The Conference on Disarmament was asked to continue negotiations with a view to an immediate conclusion of the agreement on the prohibition of military attacks on nuclear facilities.

Report: In a report (A/40/783) on implementation of Council resolution 487, the Secretary-General said he had asked Israel to inform him of action it had taken or envisaged to take regarding the Assembly's demand that it undertake not to carry out, in disregard of the IAEA safeguards system, any attack on peaceful nuclear facilities in Iraq or other countries.

Israel, replying on 24 October, made three points: (1) that States must refrain from attacking or threatening to attack peaceful nuclear facilities, and that the IAEA safeguards system "brings evidence of the peaceful operation of a facility"; (2) within that context, Israel reconfirmed that it would not attack or threaten to attack any peaceful nuclear facilities, either in the Middle East (including Iraq) or anywhere else; and (3) Israel would support any subsequent action in competent forums convened to work out binding agreements protecting peaceful nuclear installations from attack and threat of attack.

Debate: In the debate, in which 32 speakers participated, Iraq said Israel still insisted that it must be the sole judge of the peaceful character of nuclear facilities and, in the light of its own judgement, take "offensive, aggressive" action against such installations. The Israeli reply to the Secretary-General, it said, had failed to clarify Israel's concept of "peaceful nuclear facility", and contained no undertaking, incumbent upon Israel under resolution 487, to submit Israeli nuclear facilities to IAEA safeguards or to inspection by the Agency. All that Israel had to do was to state that "Israel will not attack any nuclear facility fully under the IAEA safeguards", Iraq said.

Israel stated that the IAEA on 26 September had accepted the three central points in its reply to the Secretary-General. As far as the IAEA was concerned, the issue was closed, Israel said. The Assembly should act in accordance with the IAEA decision and drop the issue. The call to States and organizations that had not yet done so to discontinue co-operating with and assisting Israel in the nuclear field contradicted the IAEA decision to continue co-operation with Israel. The demand on IAEA to consider additional

measures against Israel was "a classic example of an attempt to usurp" the authority of an independent United Nations agency. Iraq had repeatedly bombed Iranian nuclear installations, Israel said. Exercising "stark hypocrisy", Iraq believed it had "tamed" the Assembly, Israel said, to accept "an unlimited dosage of slander".