Issued by: The Department of Foreign Affairs
MEDIA STATEMENT ON FURTHER CALL FOR NUCLEAR DISARMAMENT
Foreign Minister Alfred Nzo reaffirms South Africa's commitment to working towards finding innovative ways of ridding the world of nuclear weapons. In New York late yesterday, Minister Nzo joined his counterparts from Brazil, Egypt, Ireland, Mexico, New Zealand, Slovenia and Sweden in recalling their Joint Declaration entitled "Towards a Nuclear Weapon Free World: The Need for a New Agenda", and to assess development in the field of nuclear disarmament and nuclear non-proliferation since the Declaration was issued on 9 June 1998.
The Ministers reaffirmed their intention to introduce a draft resolution on the need to promote a nuclear free world, at the 53rd Session of the United Nations General Assembly. This, they believed, would send a strong message to the five Nuclear Weapon States and the nuclear-weapons-capable-States, especially following the recent nuclear tests in South Asia. The Ministers called on these States to commit themselves unequivocally to the elimination of their respective nuclear weapons and nuclear weapons capability and to agree to start work immediately on the practical steps and negotiations required for its achievement.
The Ministers echoed President Mandela's call in the United Nations General Assembly earlier this week, that the resolution receive overwhelming support from the Member States of the United Nations and expressed the hope that it would generate renewed impetus in the search for a world free of nuclear weapons. Minister Nzo concluded that there was "an urgent ned to support this initiative as nuclear non-proliferation guarantees our long term security, not nuclear weapons". In this regard, the other Ministers referred to South Africa as an encouraging example of a country which had voluntarily destroyed its nuclear weapons capability.
ISSUED BY THE DEPARTMENT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS PRETORIA 23 SEPTEMBER 1998