Netherlands

Nuclear-weapon host state

Hosts 15 US nuclear weapons

Has not yet joined the TPNW

SIGNED

RATIFIED

IN FORCE

Status

The Netherlands has not yet signed or ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).

National position

The Netherlands has consistently voted against an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that welcomes the adoption of the TPNW and calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to it “at the earliest possible date”.

The Netherlands supports the retention and potential use of nuclear weapons on its behalf, as indicated by its endorsement of various alliance statements of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), of which it is a member.

In a letter to ICAN in 2023, the Dutch ministry of foreign affairs said that the Netherlands “cannot become a member of the TPNW in its current form”, despite sharing the TPNW’s goal of “a world without nuclear weapons”, as “the treaty is incompatible with our membership as a NATO ally”.

“NATO is a nuclear alliance as long as nuclear weapons exist. Moreover, the Netherlands has a nuclear weapons task within this alliance framework,” it said.

Nuclear weapons in the Netherlands

The Netherlands is one of five NATO members that host US nuclear weapons on their territories as part of a “nuclear-sharing” arrangement. The Dutch air force is assigned approximately 15 B61 nuclear bombs, which are deployed at Volkel Air Base.

In 2022, the Dutch parliament adopted a resolution calling on the government to provide information regarding the modernisation of US nuclear weapons deployed in the Netherlands.

A protest is held at the Volkel Air Base, where US nuclear weapons are stationed, on 22 January 2021 – the date of the TPNW’s entry into force. Photo: ICAN

Meetings of states parties

The Netherlands observed the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022, after its parliament instructed the government to send a delegation. The Netherlands said that it would “contribute to constructive dialogue” and it understood “how much effort and personal commitment has been put into making the TPNW a reality”.

However, it added that the Netherlands remains firmly committed to NATO’s “policy of nuclear deterrence and our nuclear task” – that is, the hosting of US nuclear weapons on Dutch territory – and it “does not have the intention to sign or accede to the TPNW”, which it views as “incompatible with our NATO obligations”.

In a report to the Dutch parliament on the outcomes of the meeting, the foreign ministry opined that “for the time being” further participation by the Netherlands in TPNW meetings as an observer “is not useful”.

Political developments

In 2018, the Dutch parliament called on the government to re-examine the TPNW and to work to increase the support for the treaty among NATO members. The parliament also sought legal advice on the legislative requirements of becoming a state party.

In response to the parliament’s request, the then-minister of foreign affairs of the Netherlands, Stef Blok, and the then-defence minister, Ank Bijleveld, wrote in 2019 that no changes would be needed to existing Dutch legislation if the Netherlands were to adhere to the TPNW, but additional implementing legislation would be needed.

The city of Amsterdam voiced its support for the TPNW in 2021 when the treaty entered into force, and the Hague endorsed it in 2024.

Public opinion

A public opinion poll conducted by YouGov in 2020 found that 78 per cent of Dutch people believe that their country should join the TPNW, with just 7 per cent opposed to joining. Furthermore, 68 per cent believe that the Netherlands should be among the first NATO states to join, even if it faced pressure from allies not to do so.

The poll also found that 58 per cent of Dutch people want US nuclear weapons to be removed from Dutch territory – a requirement of the TPNW.

ICAN campaigners in Utrecht, the Netherlands, launch the 2016 edition of Don’t Bank on the Bomb, a report by the Dutch organisation PAX. Photo: ICAN

TPNW negotiations

The Netherlands participated in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017. It was the only NATO member to do so and the only state to vote against the adoption of the treaty.

In explaining its vote, it said: “While we cannot support this treaty, we appreciate how it has placed nuclear disarmament in the limelight and created a broad momentum for disarmament.” It also said that it considers the TPNW to be “incompatible with our commitments as a NATO state”.

In its opening statement to the negotiating conference, the Netherlands said that it could “support the concept of a legally binding instrument prohibiting nuclear weapons as an element of a nuclear-weapon-free world”.

In 2016, the Netherlands abstained from voting on 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”. It was the only NATO member not to vote against the resolution.

In a document sent to NATO members ahead of the vote, the United States “strongly encourage[d]” members, including the Netherlands, to vote against the resolution, “not to merely abstain”. In addition, it said that, if the treaty negotiations do commence, allies and partners should “refrain from joining them”.

Pressure from the Dutch parliament and the public appeared to have a significant bearing on the Dutch government’s decision to participate in the negotiating conference.

Karel van Oosterom, the Dutch ambassador to the United Nations, speaks during the TPNW negotiations in New York in 2017. Photo: ICAN

Further information

Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor

Netherlands

Nuclear-weapon host state

Hosts 15 US nuclear weapons

Has not yet joined the TPNW

Status

National position

Nuclear weapons in the Netherlands

Meetings of states parties

Political developments

Public opinion

TPNW negotiations

Further information

Local Partner Organizations

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