Lithuania
Lithuania boycotted the TPNW negotiations in 2017 and has consistently voted against the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the Treaty, including in 2022.
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 | Not 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 1MSP (2022) | 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| Small Quantities Protocol | No (Rescinded 2022) |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
Lithuania may sign and ratify the TPNW, but will have to make changes to its policies and practices to become compliant.
Responding 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’.1
At the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, Lithuania said that it ‘supports [an] inclusive approach to nuclear disarmament where nuclear and non-nuclear states engage in meaningful steps towards creating the environment conducive for further nuclear disarmament negotiations.’2
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2022, Lithuania reiterated its ‘strong commitment to arms control, disarmament and non-proliferation, and call[ed] on all states to respect their obligations and commitments in this field’.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.