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 2025. It 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 (2025) |
| Participated in 3MSP (2025) | No |
| 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
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting in April 2025, Portugal reaffirmed ‘its dedication to strengthening the NPT, building trust through transparency, and ensuring that future generations inherit a world without nuclear weapons’. It emphasized that measures to reduce the risks associated with nuclear weapons ‘must not be regarded as a replacement for nuclear disarmament’.1
At the same meeting, it also argued that NATO’s nuclear-sharing arrangements, whereby US nuclear weapons are deployed on the territories of Belgium, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and Türkiye, should not be compared in any way with the deployment of Russian nuclear weapons in Belarus, which it said are in breach of the NPT.2
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, Portugal noted that the modernization of nuclear arsenals is contributing to the erosion of the nuclear non-proliferation architecture. It also emphasized that, to be effective, ‘disarmament cannot just be about intergovernmental negotiations or State policies’ but must instead be ‘a whole-of-society effort which fully includes international and regional organizations, the private sector, academia, and civil society’.3
As part of its Universal Periodic Review by the UN Human Rights Council in 2024, Portugal received a recommendation to ‘consider signing and ratifying’ the TPNW, which it ‘noted’.4
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.