Portugal
Portugal 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. Portugal 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 1977) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2000) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1986) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2004) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1975) | |
| 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, Portugal expressed deep concern ‘about the erosion of the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation architecture in recent years’.1 The shadows cast by nuclear weapons, it said, ‘challenge international law’ and the norms, rules and principles of the international order.2 At the same meeting, Portugal voiced opposition to Russia’s announced deployment of nuclear weapons to Belarus, while rejecting any comparison of this arrangement with the long-standing stationing of US nuclear weapons in Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Türkiye under NATO.
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee session in July 2024, Portugal described the NPT as ‘the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime and a fundamental basis towards nuclear disarmament’.3
As part of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review process, Portugal received a recommendation in 2024 to ‘[c]onsider signing and ratifying’ the TPNW.4 It will respond to this recommendation in 2025.
Recommendations
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Portugal 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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Portugal 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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Portugal 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.