The State Secretary for Foreign and Global Affairs, Ángeles Moreno Bau, has just taken part in the general debate of the Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (TNP), being held over the course of this month in New York, where she reiterated Spain’s firm support for the TNP as the cornerstone of the international non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament regime.
Ángeles Moreno Bau, in a context marked by the intolerable threat of the use of nuclear weapons by a nuclear-weapon State, whereby it is considered pressing to once again boost the disarmament cause, advocated adopting measures to reduce the risks and that nuclear-weapon States should resume talks as soon as possible on the control of weapons and the reduction of arsenals. As part of the Stockholm Initiative on Nuclear Disarmament, Spain backs the proposal for gradual measures to progress down the path towards disarmament contained in the document entitled Stepping Stones, including the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty.
As regards non-proliferation, the State secretary expressed Spain’s support for the work of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its verification system based on safeguard agreements and its additional protocol, which constitute the international standard on the matter. She also reiterated Spain’s hope that the talks on the Iranian nuclear agreement are fruitful, which is fundamental for stability in the Middle East and to prevent a regional arms race. She once again condemned the attitude of North Korea, which must immediately desist from its provocations and become decisively involved in a diplomatic process for its complete, verifiable and irreversible de-nuclearization.
Ángeles Moreno Bau reaffirmed Spain’s support for the right to the safe use of nuclear technology for peaceful ends subject to safeguards. Furthermore, she backed the IAEA’s initiative to respect, on Ukrainian territory and within the context of the Russian military aggression, the so-called “seven pillars of nuclear safety”: the seven measures derived from the IAEA practice on technological and physical safety that must be respected in any circumstance. As a firm proponent of gender equality, Spain is working for the full participation of women in nuclear matters, backing such initiatives as the IAEA’s Marie Sklodowska-Curie Fellowship Programme.
The TNP has been in force for more than 50 years and is the cornerstone of the international non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament regime. Its five-yearly review conferences provide the opportunity to take on collective commitments on the matter and to establish the priorities for the upcoming period. The Tenth Review Conference was initially scheduled for 2020 – the 50th anniversary of the entry into force of the TNP - but had to be postponed on three occasions due to the pandemic.
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