UK AND THE NPT REVIEW CONFERENCE

That this House notes that in the Government's Official Statement of 23 May 2015 on the conclusion of the 190-member state Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) Review Conference that finished at the UN in New York on 22 May 2015, the Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, the hon. Member for Bournemouth East said that NPT is vitally important for the international community as a whole and has played an unparallelled role in curtailing the nuclear arms race; further notes he asserted that despite the best efforts of the UK and others, this year's Review Conference was unable to agree a substantive outcome; points out that the failure arose because the UK disgracefully joined Canada in backing the US in blocking the final NPT Review Conference declaration because it promoted a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East as championed by Egypt; further notes with dismay the UK blocked the consensus agreement in support of Israel which opposes Egypt's proposals, even though Israel is not even a party to the NPT; and calls on the Government instead to join with 107 NPT member states who called in New York for a nuclear weapons ban, which is widely supported by civil society groups led by the International Campaign To Abolish Nuclear Weapons.