The Diplomat
The State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs, Ángeles Moreno Bau, called for measures to reduce the risk of the use of nuclear weapons, during her participation in the Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which is being held this month in New York.
The NPT review conference, which opened on Monday at UN headquarters, traditionally takes place every five years. Its delay for two years, due to Covid and Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, has meant that the meeting coincides with high tensions between countries that possess atomic bombs.
At the opening of the conference, UN Secretary General António Guterres warned that the world is “one misunderstanding or miscalculation away from nuclear annihilation”, and demanded that the nuclear powers reach agreements to reduce this serious threat.
Moreno Bau, according to a note from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, spoke at the conference on Monday to reiterate Spain’s “firm support for the NPT as the cornerstone of the international nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime”.
The note adds that in a context marked by the “intolerable threat of the use of nuclear weapons by a possessor State and in which it is considered urgent to revitalise the cause of disarmament”, the Secretary of State called for “the adoption of risk reduction measures and for the nuclear-weapon States to resume talks on arms control and stockpile reduction as soon as possible”.
She also recalled that, as part of the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament, Spain supports the proposal for gradual steps towards disarmament set out in the Stepping Stones document, including the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
On non-proliferation, Ángeles Moreno expressed Spain’s support for the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its verification system, based on safeguards agreements and their additional protocol, which constitute the international standard in this area.
She also reiterated Spain’s hope that the talks on the Iranian nuclear agreement, which is essential for stability in the Middle East and for preventing a regional arms race, will bear fruit. She also condemned once again “the attitude of North Korea, which must immediately cease its provocations and engage decisively in a diplomatic process for its complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation”, she said.
Ángeles Moreno reaffirmed Spain’s support for the right to the safe and secure use of nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. Likewise, she supported the IAEA’s initiative to ensure that the so-called “seven pillars of nuclear security” – the seven measures derived from IAEA practice in the field of safety and security that should be respected in all circumstances – are respected on Ukrainian territory and in the context of Russian military aggression.
The State Secretary also pointed out that Spain, as a strong advocate of gender equality, works for the full participation of women in the nuclear field, supporting initiatives such as the IAEA Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowships.
The NPT has been in force for more than half a century and is the cornerstone of the international nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament regime. Its five-yearly Review Conferences are the opportunity to make collective commitments and set priorities for the coming period. The tenth Review Conference was originally scheduled for 2020, the 50th anniversary of the NPT’s entry into force, but had to be postponed up to three times due to the pandemic.
