The United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR) and the European Union (EU) are pleased to invite you to a hybrid side event on “Narratives on the Middle East WMD-Free Zone: Historical accounts, drivers, and themes” to be held on the margins of the NPT Review Conference on August 10, 2022 at 13:15 – 14:30 EDT.

Delegates attending the NPT Review Conference are invited to attend in person and do not need to register. Other interested participants can attend virtually by registering here.

The goal of the event is to introduce UNIDIR’s Middle East WMD-Free Zone Project’s forthcoming publication “Narratives on the Middle East WMD-Free Zone: Historical accounts, drivers, and themes” to a broader audience and inform the NPT RevCon deliberations on the Zone.

The publication is based on interviews of 80 current and former officials as well as experts from over 16 other states and regional and international organizations conducted by the ME WMDFZ Project team. The publication presents seven “narratives” or subjective accounts of the Zone. Each narrative explores the main objectives, strategies, themes, and ideas of key states toward the ME WMDFZ.

The NPT RevCon side-event panel will feature senior experts who can reflect on specific drivers, and themes across each of the five narratives in light of their experiences and expertise.

PROGRAMME

Opening remarks by Dr. Robin Geiss, UNIDIR Director, and Ambassador Silvio Gonzato, Chargé d’Affaires a.i., Delegation of the European Union to the United Nations.

• Dr. Farzan Sabet, Researcher, UNIDIR
• Dr. Hanna Notte, Senior Research Associate, Vienna Center for Disarmament and Nonproliferation, ACRS Oral History Project
• Mr. Thomas Markram, Director and Deputy to the High Representative for Disarmament Affairs, UN Office for Disarmament Affairs
• Amb. Wael Al Assad, Senior Fellow, UNIDIR, and former head of the Department of Disarmament & Arms Control within the League of Arab states General Secretariat
• Dr. Ali Vaez, Iran Project Director and Senior Adviser to the President, Crisis Group

Moderator: Dr. Chen Zak, Project Head, UNIDIR

The event will take place in English. For any inquiries, please contact Ms. Anne-Laure Souissi-Sans, ME WMDFZ Project Coordinator (sans@un.org).