The Nonaligned Movement (Nam) representing over 100 developing countries urged United Nations secretary-general Ban Ki Moon on Monday to convene a long-delayed conference promoting a nuclear-weapon-free zone in the Middle East.

Indonesian Foreign Minister Marty Natalegawa made the appeal in advance of the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference due to begin next year.

Mr Marty reiterated the Nam demand that Israel — the only country in the region that has not joined the treaty — “renounces possession of nuclear weapons” and joins the treaty without delay. 

Israel is known to possess nuclear weapons but has never publicly admitted it.

At the last review in May 2010, the 189 member nations party to the treaty called for a conference in 2012 “on the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction.”

It was scheduled to take place in Finland, but the US blocked it at the time, apparently to save Israel embarrassment for refusing to attend.

Mr Natalegawa said that Nam parties to the NPT are seriously concerned that the meeting has not been held, which could have “negative repercussions” on the treaty and the 2015 review conference “and the nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation regime as a whole.”

He urged the UN, US, Britain and Russia to focus on convening the conference “at the earliest date in 2014” and to seek “credible assurances” in advance “regarding the unconditional participation of Israel.”