Statement by Sweden delivered by Minister-Counsellor Ms Sara Lindegren, 15 March 2022.
First, let me welcome you as chair and assure you of my delegation’s full support. Let me also thank you for the “food for thought” paper that you have provided us with.
Sweden associates itself to the statement made by the EU. We wish to underline the following points in Sweden’s national capacity for our work in subsidiary body 1
Nuclear disarmament is at the core of our work here in the Conference on Disarmament and it is also a top priority for my government.
We are here today to discuss communalities. One communality that we all agree on and that is featuring in previous reports is the need for nuclear disarmament and the shared goal of a world free of nuclear weapons. We believe that this should be the starting point for our deliberations. Our discussions here also have relevance for the Non-proliferation Treaty and its 10th Review conference later this year.
Views traditionally differ regarding how we should reach our common goal and to what extent the international security context should be taken into consideration.
We meet against the backdrop of the Russian Federation’s unprovoked and unjustified aggression on Ukraine, as well as President Putin’s unacceptable threats of using nuclear force and this only months after the P5 came together and reaffirmed that a “nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought”.
Sweden condemns the invasion, and we call on the Russian Federation to refrain from further provocations, escalations, and illegal use of force, to unconditionally withdraw from Ukraine, to end the illegal annexation of Crimea and to engage in dialogue with the aim of restoring security, stability, and peace in Europe.
The current security situation, with the risk of another nuclear arms race, or actual nuclear use, further underlines the need to effectively tackle global disarmament and achieve long-lasting and sustainable solutions.
The Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament is a clear example of how Sweden, together with others, actively seeks to achieve much needed progress on nuclear disarmament and article VI of the NPT. The Initiative offers concrete and pragmatic measures for advancing nuclear disarmament, allowing for substantial and incremental progress. Achieving full implementation of all obligations and commitments under the NPT should be of paramount importance to all states. States need to show high-level commitment and engage in a forward-looking agenda to advance nuclear disarmament and reaffirm the NPT as the cornerstone of the disarmament and non-proliferation architecture.
Proposed measures include steps to reduce or further reduce nuclear arsenals, to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in doctrines and policies, to enhance transparency, to proceed with negotiations on a treaty prohibiting fissile material production for nuclear weapons, to support efforts to develop multilateral nuclear disarmament verification capacities, to strengthen negative security assurances, to promote the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty, to engage younger generations, as well as the inclusion of diverse gender perspective and promote the full and effective participation of women in all aspects of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation decision-making.
Any use of nuclear weapons would result in catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences. Urgent action is needed to implement risk reduction measures. Existing tools such as crisis communication hotlines should be revisited and adapted to meet current and future challenges, notably the deteriorated international security environment, great power competition, stress on the nuclear arms control disarmament and non-proliferation architecture, regional tensions, and the potentially destabilizing implications of several technological developments.
All states can and should help drive progress on nuclear disarmament. But nuclear armed states bear a special responsibility to do so. There have been some positive developments with the extension of the New START agreement and the U.S.-Russia Strategic Stability Dialogue, as well as P5 collaboration and the joint statement. We urge the nuclear weapon states to continue with these initiatives. We call on all nuclear armed states to actively engage in efforts towards our shared goal of a world free of nuclear weapons.
I thank you.