Sweden
Sweden voted in favour of adopting the TPNW at the UN Diplomatic Conference in 2017 and abstained on the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the Treaty until 2021, but changed to a no vote in 2022 after having applied for NATO membership and embraced the alliance's nuclear doctrine.
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) | Observer |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 3 (33%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | No |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 1998, Annex 2 state) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1976) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1993) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | Cleared |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
Sweden submitted a letter of intent to NATO in July 2022, declaring that it accepts ‘NATO’s approach to security and defence, including the essential role of nuclear weapons’ and that it is ‘willing to commit forces and capabilities for the full range of Alliance missions.’1
Sweden attended as an observer the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (1MSP) in Vienna in June 2022. In its statement to the 1MSP, Sweden outlined its concerns about the TPNW.2
At the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, Sweden said: ‘Multilateralism remains our best chance to … realise the objectives of the NPT, including our common goal of a world free from nuclear weapons.’3
Sweden has launched the Stockholm Initiative, which is aimed at unlocking disarmament diplomacy through constructive engagement and a 'stepping stones' approach.
Recommendations
- Sweden 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.
- Sweden should comply with its existing obligation under Article VI of the NPT and pursue negotiations in good faith on nuclear disarmament.
- Sweden 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.