En este contexto, y con el objetivo de reforzar el régimen del TNP, España participa, junto con otros quince países (Alemania, Argentina, Canadá, España, Etiopía, Finlandia, Indonesia, Japón, Jordania, Kazajstán, Noruega, Nueva Zelanda, Países Bajos, República de Corea, Suecia y Suiza), en la Iniciativa de Estocolmo para el Desarme Nuclear. El TNP es un instrumento fundamental del que la comunidad internacional se dotó en 1968 para tratar de prevenir la propagación de armas nucleares, promover el desarme nuclear y fomentar la cooperación en los usos pacíficos de la energía nuclear. Cada cinco años, todos los estados parte se reúnen para debatir las medidas que pueden llevarse a cabo para avanzar en estos objetivos.
La preparación de la 10.ª Conferencia de Revisión del TNP (RevCon), prevista para 2020, coincidiendo con el 50.º aniversario de su entrada en vigor, motivó la primera reunión de los países de la Iniciativa. Los 16 países, de regiones y posturas diversas, decidieron aunar esfuerzos para promover una RevCon exitosa, y comenzaron su andadura con reuniones de ministros de Asuntos Exteriores en Estocolmo y Berlín, en 2019 y 2020 respectivamente.
En esta última reunión, se acordaron una Declaración política y 22 medidas concretas y realistas, denominadas stepping stones, que se convirtieron en la propuesta de los miembros de la Iniciativa de Estocolmo para avanzar en los objetivos del TNP. Estas medidas abarcan cuestiones tales como el fomento de nuevas reducciones de los arsenales nucleares, el avance hacia la entrada en vigor del Tratado de Prohibición Completa de Ensayos Nucleares (TPCEN), la promoción de la negociación de un acuerdo de prohibición de producción de material fisible con fines militares, el establecimiento de una Zona Libre de Armas Nucleares (ZLAN) en Oriente Medio o una mayor implicación de la juventud en la causa del desarme nuclear, entre otros muchos asuntos. Los documentos han sido presentados a la RevCon al objeto de que sean debatidos durante la misma y puedan influir en las posiciones de otros países.
A consecuencia de la pandemia del COVID-19, la RevCon fue pospuesta, lo que permitió celebrar una nueva Reunión Ministerial en Ammán en enero de 2021 con el objetivo de renovar el compromiso político y adoptar nuevas medidas de apoyo a la conferencia. España acogerá la próxima Reunión Ministerial de la Iniciativa de Estocolmo el 5 de julio en Madrid.
Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament
The Stockholm Initiative was launched in order to strengthen the Non Proliferation Treaty (NPT) of 1968 and further the cause of nuclear disarmament, ensuring the success of the 10th NPT Review Conference. For this, it promotes several specific and realistic measures known as the “stepping stones”. The next ministerial meeting of the Stockholm Initiative will take place in Madrid on July 5th.
In the recent years, a context of growing strategic tension has resulted in a loss of momentum for nuclear disarmament efforts and growing risks of new actors obtaining nuclear weapons. As a result, the global architecture that deals with nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation and arms control is under great pressure, contributing to general instability.
Against this backdrop, and with the main goal of reinforcing the NPT regime, Spain and 15 other countries (Argentina, Canada, Ethiopia, Finland, Germany, Indonesia, Japan, Jordan, Kazakhstan, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, the Republic of Korea, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland) have teamed up in the Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament. In 1968, the international community agreed on the NPT as the main instrument to avoid the widespread distribution of nuclear weapons, promote nuclear disarmament and cooperate on peaceful uses of nuclear energy. Every five years its State parties meet and discuss what measures should be taken in order to advance those goals.
The preparation of the 10th Review Conference of the NPT (RevCon), initially scheduled for 2020 (the NPT’s 50th anniversary), was the main reason behind the launch of the Stockholm Initiative. The 16 participating countries, from different regions and with diverse positions, decided to team up in order to promote a successful RevCon. The first meetings of their ministers for foreign affairs took place in Stockholm and Berlin, in 2019 and 2020 respectively.
In Berlin, they agreed on a political declaration and 22 concrete and realistic measures or “stepping stones” that became their main proposal to advance the NPT’s goals. The “stepping stones” cover issues such as promoting further reductions of nuclear stockpiles, making progress towards the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban Treaty (CTBT), unblocking the negotiations of a treaty banning the production of fissile material for military use, establishing a zone free of weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East, or fostering the gender perspective and youth participation in the field of disarmament. The “stepping stones” have been presented as a working document to the RevCon so they can be discussed during its meetings and in order to win other countries’ support.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the RevCon was postponed. This allowed another ministerial meeting to take place on 6 January 2021 in Amman (Jordan), where the members of the Initiative renewed their political commitment to the success of the RevCon and decided on new measures to this end. Spain will host the next ministerial meeting of the Stockholm Initiative on July 5th 2021 in Madrid.