Poland

Nuclear-weapon endorser

Has not yet joined the TPNW

SIGNED

RATIFIED

IN FORCE

Status

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

National position

Poland 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”.

Poland 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 2024, Poland argued that recent negative developments with respect to nuclear weapons “expose further the obvious weaknesses of the [TPNW] when compared with the balanced approach of the [Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968]”.

It added that “the TPNW seeks to undermine deterrence as a legitimate means to guarantee security” and that NATO’s nuclear deterrent “very much matters for the security of Poland”.

Political developments

The former Polish president Aleksander Kwaśniewski, former prime minister Hanna Suchocka, and former foreign ministers Andrzej Olechowski and Dariusz Rosati co-signed an open letter in 2020 calling on current leaders to “show courage and boldness – and join the [TPNW]”.

In 2022, in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, the former Polish president Lech Wałęsa joined other Nobel peace laureates in urging “all countries to support the TPNW to ensure that we never again face a similar moment of nuclear danger”.

TPNW negotiations

Poland did not participate in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and thus did not vote on its adoption. On the opening day of the negotiating conference, it joined the United States and several other states in protesting the treaty-making process.

In 2016, Poland voted against 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”.

In a document sent to NATO members ahead of the vote, the United States “strongly encourage[d]” members, including Poland, 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”.

Further information

Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor

Poland

Nuclear-weapon endorser

Has not yet joined the TPNW

Status

National position

Political developments

TPNW negotiations

Further information

Local Partner Organizations

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