Belarus

Belarus abstained on the UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW in 2018. Speaking at the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Plenary Meeting to Commemorate and Promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, Belarus stated that "The NPT must remain a cornerstone of the international nuclear disarmament regime. Trying to replace it with other international agreements is counterproductive.” (bit.ly/2obi545)

• Belarus should ensure that nuclear weapons do not have a role in its national defence plans and security policies. It should renounce the retention and potential use of nuclear weapons on its behalf, for instance through a declaratory statement, and refrain from endorsing future alliance statements in support of weapons of mass destruction.
• Belarus should urgently sign and ratify the TPNW, and encourage other states to adhere to the Treaty. Until it is in a position to do so, it should – in line with its obligations under the NPT – welcome the TPNW as a valuable contribution towards the common aspiration of a world without nuclear weapons, attend its meetings of states parties as an observer, and work with its states parties on practical steps towards disarmament.