Lithuania
Lithuania boycotted the TPNW negotiations in 2017 and has consistently voted against the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the Treaty, including in 2023. Lithuania may sign and ratify the TPNW, but will have to make changes to its policies and practices to become compliant.
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Test | Compatible | |
| Possess or stockpile | 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 (2023) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| 1MSP 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 |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | No |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1991) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2000) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 1998) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1998) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (1 Jan 2008) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No (Rescinded 2022) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2023, the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, criticised Russia for preventing the adoption of a consensus outcome document at the NPT Review Conference in 2022 and for announcing its intention to deploy nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory, ‘which goes against the international commitments under the [NPT]’.1
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Lithuania expressed regret that ‘the global architecture of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation continues to be subjected to severe pressure’. ‘Our ultimate goal remains achieving a world without nuclear weapons, by implementing all elements of the NPT, including Article VI,’ it said.2
During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2023, the President of Lithuania, Gitanas Nausėda, criticised Russia for preventing the adoption of a consensus outcome document at the NPT Review Conference in 2022 and for announcing its intention to deploy nuclear weapons on Belarusian territory, ‘which goes against the international commitments under the [NPT]’.1
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Lithuania expressed regret that ‘the global architecture of arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation continues to be subjected to severe pressure’. ‘Our ultimate goal remains achieving a world without nuclear weapons, by implementing all elements of the NPT, including Article VI,’ it said.2Responding to a recommendation in September 2022 to ratify the TPNW as part of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review, Lithuania said that its ‘position of non-acceptance of the [TPNW] has not changed and will remain unchanged for as long as NATO remains a nuclear alliance’.3
Recommendations
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Lithuania 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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Lithuania should comply with its existing obligation under Article VI of the NPT and pursue negotiations in good faith on nuclear disarmament.
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Lithuania 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.