Iceland
Iceland boycotted the negotiations on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2017 and has consistently voted against the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the Treaty, including in 2024. Iceland may sign and ratify or accede to the TPNW, but will have to make changes to its policies and practices to become compliant.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1969) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2000) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1974) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2003) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1973) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Possess or stockpile | Compatible | |
| Test | Compatible | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compatible |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compatible |
| (d) | Use | Compatible |
| Threaten to use | Compatible | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Non-compatible |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compatible |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compatible |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted no (2024) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | No |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | N/A |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | No |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted no |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | No |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | Yes (Modified) |
Latest developments
In December 2024, a new coalition government was formed in Iceland, comprising parliamentarians from the Social Democratic Alliance, the People’s Party and the Reform Party, some of whom have indicated their support for Iceland’s accession to the TPNW on previous occasions.1
During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2024, the then-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Þórdís Kolbrún R. Gylfadóttir, condemned Russia’s ‘repeated threats of using nuclear weapons’ in the context of the war in Ukraine as ‘reckless and dangerous’.2
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Iceland said that ‘protecting and developing the global architecture for arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation is fundamental to our existence’.3 At the same meeting, the Nordic states, including Iceland, said that ‘we must improve our common ability to address and solve conflicts and their negative impact on disarmament’.4
In response to a parliamentary question in 2023, the then-Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iceland, Bjarni Benediktsson, said that ‘it is not possible to see how [signing the TPNW] would go together with our commitments in the Atlantic Alliance [NATO]’.5
In 2023, Iceland decided to allow US nuclear-powered submarines to enter its territory for the first time, on the condition that such vessels must not carry nuclear weapons.6 This is in line with Iceland’s national security policy, which stipulates ‘that Iceland and its territorial waters be declared a nuclear-weapon-free zone, taking account of international obligations, with a view to contributing to disarmament and peace’.7
Recommendations
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Iceland should renounce the possession and potential use of nuclear weapons on its behalf, and ensure that nuclear weapons do not have a role in its defence posture.
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Iceland should comply with its existing obligation under Article VI of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and pursue negotiations in good faith on nuclear disarmament.
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Iceland should urgently adhere to the TPNW. Until it is in a position to do so, it should welcome the TPNW as a valuable component in the global disarmament and non-proliferation architecture, work with the Treaty's states parties on practical steps towards disarmament, and attend the meetings of states parties as an observer.