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On the occasion of the ICAN Act On It Forum, 17 parliamentarians from 8 European countries followed ICANs invitation to attend a parliamentary conference on nuclear disarmament and the TPNW. Parliamentarians play a crucial role in advancing nuclear disarmament. They hold a key position to promote nuclear disarmament and the Treaty On The Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in every country, and particularly in countries that have not yet joined, or are actively opposing the treaty. The conference was co-hosted by the Norwegian Christian-Democratic Party, the Norwegian Liberal Party and the Socialist Left Party. Read their summary statement below.
We gathered here today, 17 parliamentarians from 8 European countries, to discuss promoting nuclear disarmament and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and our role as parliamentarians in achieving a world without nuclear weapons. We explored our national situations and positions and exchanged ideas on how to encourage bolder and more concrete actions towards nuclear disarmament. We also deliberated how to respond to Russian nuclear threats and what we as parliamentarians can do to strengthen the longstanding taboo against the use of nuclear weapons.
Ten years after Norway hosted the first conference on the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons, we have a treaty that bans nuclear weapons under international law with 92 signatories and 68 states parties. The TPNW is an important reinforcement of the nuclear disarmament and nonproliferation regime in a time of heightened risks of nuclear use and the erosion of the nuclear taboo. The illegal and brutal war of aggression on Ukraine inflicted by the Russian regime's nuclear threats exposes the unbearable risks associated with nuclear weapons. We unequivocally condemn any and all nuclear threats and urge leaders and politicians to ensure that nuclear weapons will never be used again through complete global nuclear disarmament. We discussed the lack of transparency of nuclear policies, including on nuclear sharing arrangements. Complementary to the NPT, the TPNW is the most comprehensive legal tool for achieving the goal of a nuclear weapons free world. We therefore call upon all governments to promote the universalization of the Treaty and support its implementation and to join the TPNW as soon as possible.
We welcome the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and the successful first meeting of states parties in June 2022. At this meeting, states parties set out an ambitious plan on how to strengthen the disarmament regime, complementing their efforts as parties of the Non-Proliferation Treaty. As the only treaty to prohibit the threat of using nuclear weapons, and through the States Parties strong condemnation of any and all nuclear threats, the TPNW has set an example for the international community on how to strengthen the decades-old taboo through continuous and consistent condemnation of nuclear threats.
We also welcome the constructive engagement of states that have participated as observers in the meeting of states parties to the TPNW and encourage all other non-signatories to also observe the second meeting as an intermediate step towards the signature and ratification of the TPNW. We urge our governments to explore options to collaborate with states parties, particularly in the area of victim assistance and environmental remediation, as set out in Article 6 and 7 of the TPNW.
Complementary to stigmatising nuclear weapons and strengthening disarmament treaties such as the TPNW, concrete steps towards nuclear disarmament must be a priority for the year 2023. We therefore call on our governments to reduce the role of nuclear weapons in their security strategies, to continuously condemn nuclear threats and to encourage our allied partners in the G7 to make the 2023 G7 summit in the symbolic city of Hiroshima the starting point for nuclear disarmament negotiations.
Participants:
Ingrid Fiskaa, Norway
Dag-Inge Ulstein, Norway
Ola Elvestuen, Norway
Linda Merkesdal, Norway
Kristian Klinck, Germany
Guillaume Defossé, Belgium
Merle Spellerberg, Germany
Andrés Ingi Jonsson, Iceland
Lotta Johnson Fornarve, Sweden
Sigrid Zurburchen Heiberg, Norway
Ole André Myhrvold, Norway
Birgit Oline Kjerstad, Norway
Bill Kidd, Scotland
Håkan Svenneling, Sweden
Tobias Lund, Norway
Trine Mach, Denmark
Miroslav Gregoric, Slovenia (observing)