CHAIRMAN: DR. KHALID BIN THANI AL THANI
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF: DR. KHALID BIN MUBARAK AL-SHAFI

Views /Editorial

A fair demand

Published: 13 Jun 2021 - 08:23 am | Last Updated: 24 Sep 2025 - 05:20 am

The world is preoccupied for nearly a decade with Iran’s nuclear program and before that for more than a decade with the Iraq’s one where concerned Western countries expressed great eagerness to stop these programs either by using force, as happened with Iraq, or through negotiations as is happening now in the case of Iran. 

The people of this region and their governments wish to see the entire world free of weapons of mass destruction in all its different forms, not only in the Middle East, but nothing could be achieved by wishes, in particular, in light of the double standard practices in implementing agreed upon international agreements and conventions.

What distinguishes the policies related to the implementation of preventing the spread of nuclear weapons and international resolutions is the double standard mechanism in implementing global agreements and the UN resolutions. Israel, as usual, will remain the best example of this because it is still immune to implementing these resolutions and its nuclear program as well is specifically directed to the surrounding Arabs and entire Islamic countries. 

For these reasons, the implementation of Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) seems to be not popular among people in the ME, as people see it being used for political purposes to serve the interests of the super powers and their close allies. 

This is what makes countries like Qatar call for Israel’s commitment to international law and that its nuclear capabilities be subject to inspection.

The State of Qatar stressed in front of the session of the IAEA Board of Governors held in Vienna, the importance of Israel cooperating with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) regarding its nuclear capabilities and to open its atomic reactors to inspectors.

Qatar’s Ambassador to the Federal Republic of Austria, and its Permanent Representative to the United Nations and international organizations, H E Sultan bin Salmeen Al Mansouri, told the board members that Qatar strongly supports the rule of law in international relations, as a basic guarantee for creating a peaceful and stable international environment that enhances opportunities for sustainable development for all peoples.

He pointed out that all Arab countries joined the NPT and adopted and agreed to all international resolutions calling for the ME to be free of nuclear weapons, while Israel continuously refuses to engage in these efforts. 

As Israel still refuse to observe international law and its use of all kinds of weapons to oppress the Palestinians raise a fundamental question “whether Israel behaves as a responsible state and uses its weapons in accordance with the rules of international law?”