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Saudi Arabia
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has not yet joined the TPNW
Status
Saudi Arabia has not yet signed or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
National position
Since 2021, Saudi Arabia has abstained from voting on an annual UN General Assembly resolution that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the TPNW “at the earliest possible date”. From 2018 to 2020, it voted in favour of the resolution.
In 2018, Saudi Arabia welcomed the negotiation and adoption of the TPNW and expressed its hope “that this treaty will promote international peace and security and rid the world of all weapons of mass destruction, without exception”.
In 2022, it said that it “gives special attention to acceding to all the treaties and agreements that would help to eliminate all forms of nuclear weapons, achieve peace and stability, and reduce the risks of wars where internationally forbidden weapons are used”.
TPNW negotiations
Saudi Arabia participated in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and was among 122 states that voted in favour of its adoption.
In its opening statement to the negotiating conference, Saudi Arabia stressed that “the establishment of security and stability in any region cannot be achieved through possession of weapons of mass destruction”.
In 2016, Saudi Arabia voted in favour of the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Before the negotiations
Saudi Arabia was among 127 states that endorsed a “humanitarian pledge” in 2015–16 to cooperate “in efforts to stigmatise, prohibit, and eliminate nuclear weapons”. The pledge was instrumental in building momentum and support for convening the TPNW negotiations.
Saudi Arabia and other states vote to adopt a UN working group report in 2016 that recommends the start of treaty negotiations. Photo: ICAN
Further information
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has not yet joined the TPNW
[HIGHLIGHTS]
Status
Saudi Arabia has not yet signed or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
National position
Since 2021, Saudi Arabia has abstained from voting on an annual UN General Assembly resolution that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the TPNW “at the earliest possible date”. From 2018 to 2020, it voted in favour of the resolution.
In 2018, Saudi Arabia welcomed the negotiation and adoption of the TPNW and expressed its hope “that this treaty will promote international peace and security and rid the world of all weapons of mass destruction, without exception”.
In 2022, it said that it “gives special attention to acceding to all the treaties and agreements that would help to eliminate all forms of nuclear weapons, achieve peace and stability, and reduce the risks of wars where internationally forbidden weapons are used”.
TPNW negotiations
Saudi Arabia participated in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and was among 122 states that voted in favour of its adoption.
In its opening statement to the negotiating conference, Saudi Arabia stressed that “the establishment of security and stability in any region cannot be achieved through possession of weapons of mass destruction”.
In 2016, Saudi Arabia voted in favour of the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Before the negotiations
Saudi Arabia was among 127 states that endorsed a “humanitarian pledge” in 2015–16 to cooperate “in efforts to stigmatise, prohibit, and eliminate nuclear weapons”. The pledge was instrumental in building momentum and support for convening the TPNW negotiations.
Saudi Arabia and other states vote to adopt a UN working group report in 2016 that recommends the start of treaty negotiations. Photo: ICAN
Further information
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