Holy See
During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2023, the Holy See’s Secretary of Relations with States, Richard Gallagher, said that ‘it is the firm conviction of the Holy See that the use of atomic energy for purposes of war is, today more than ever, a crime not only against the dignity of human beings, but against any possible future for our common home, while the mere possession itself of nuclear weapons is also immoral’. He urged all states to sign and ratify the TPNW, which, together with the NPT and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty, forms ‘the basis for the disarmament and non-proliferation regime’. He also called for the advancement of discussions under the TPNW ‘on the creation of an international trust fund to support a restorative approach to the human and environmental harms caused by nuclear use and testing’. [1]
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compliant |
| Test | Compliant | |
| Possess or stockpile | Compliant | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compliant |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compliant |
| (d) | Use | Compliant |
| Threaten to use | Compliant | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compliant |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compliant |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compliant |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | N/A |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes |
| 2MSP delegation size (% women) | 8 (13%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | N/A |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | No |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1971) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 2002) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1999) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (1 Aug 1972) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Modified) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
The Holy See participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023, where it called for a ‘moral revolution that replaces the negative concept of security based on the precarious balance of deterrence with a positive one based on the fraternity that unites us’. The TPNW ‘reminds us that a world free of nuclear weapons is both possible and necessary, and offers us a means of moving towards this goal through dialogue’, it said. ‘A peace based on fraternity and solidarity must seek not only to eliminate nuclear weapons, but must also heal the scars that they have inflicted on individuals, entire communities and on our common home,’ it added. ‘In this regard, the positive obligations of the [TPNW] provide an essential means of ensuring that communities affected by the use and testing of nuclear weapons can return to the path of integral development.’ 2
Recommendations
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The Holy See should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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The Holy See should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.