Latvia
Latvia 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. Latvia 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 (Acceded 1992) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2008) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2008) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 1997) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1996) | |
| 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 | Yes |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | Cleared |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | No |
Latest developments
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Latvia warned that ‘[w]e are witnessing the unprecedented erosion of the global arms control, non-proliferation and disarmament architecture’.1 ‘Latvia advocates the ultimate goal of a world without nuclear weapons,’ it said. ‘However, we also regard nuclear deterrence as an objective necessity for as long as nuclear weapons exist and nuclear threats are used by some States to intimidate, coerce and manipulate.’2
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee session in July 2024, the three Baltic states – Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania – delivered a joint statement describing the NPT as ‘the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and disarmament architecture’ and ‘the only credible path to nuclear disarmament’. They emphasised that the ‘fundamental purpose of NATO’s nuclear capability is to preserve peace, prevent coercion and deter aggression’, and argued that NATO’s nuclear arrangements ‘continue to be fully consistent and compliant with the NPT’.3
Recommendations
-
Latvia 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.
-
Latvia should comply with its existing obligation under Article VI of the NPT and pursue negotiations in good faith on nuclear disarmament.
-
Latvia 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.