Spain

Nuclear-weapon endorser

Has not yet joined the TPNW

SIGNED

RATIFIED

IN FORCE

Status

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

National position

In 2024, the minister of foreign affairs of Spain, José Manuel Albares, outlined Spain’s position on the TPNW in a letter to civil society organisations. “We fully share with the states parties to the [TPNW] the goal of a world without nuclear weapons,” he wrote.

“However, the TPNW risks fragmenting the community built up over decades around the [Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968], has no system for verifying compliance, making it difficult to monitor its implementation, and was concluded without the participation of any of the nuclear-weapon states, so it is not likely to achieve its objectives.”

Spain 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”.

Spain 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.

Political developments

Ahead of Spain’s general election in 2023, the Sumar political party pledged: “We will lead international efforts to abolish nuclear weapons, promoting the ratification of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons …”

In 2020, the foreign affairs committee of Spain’s congress of deputies passed a resolution welcoming the TPNW’s negotiation and adoption “as an effort to move towards peace, security and disarmament”.

As part of a deal with the political party Podemos in 2018, the Spanish government committed to sign the TPNW. The deal was struck between the Spanish prime minister, Pedro Sanchez, and the leader of Podemos, Pablo Iglesias. However, no action was taken.

Three former Spanish foreign ministers – Ana Palacio, Javier Solana and Carlos Westendorp – co-signed an open letter in 2020 calling on current leaders to “show courage and boldness – and join the [TPNW]”. Solana was also a secretary-general of NATO.

Dozens of Spanish cities, including Barcelona, have urged the Spanish government to sign and ratify the treaty.

ICAN campaigners meet with the then-mayor of Barcelona, Ada Colau, in 2020 to seek her city’s support for the TPNW. Photo: Ada Colau

Public opinion

A public opinion poll conducted by YouGov in 2020 found that 89 per cent of Spaniards believe that their country should join the TPNW, with just 4 per cent opposed to joining. Furthermore, 78 per cent believe that Spain should be among the first NATO states to join, even if it faced pressure from allies not to do so.

TPNW negotiations

Spain 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. Ahead of the adoption, the foreign affairs committee of Spain’s congress of deputies passed a resolution calling on the government to support the approval of the new treaty.

Around the same time, the Catalan parliament’s foreign affairs committee also passed a resolution calling on the Spanish government to participate in the treaty negotiations and support the treaty’s adoption.

In 2016, Spain 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 Spain, 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

Spain

Nuclear-weapon endorser

Has not yet joined the TPNW

Status

National position

Political developments

Public opinion

TPNW negotiations

Further information

Local Partner Organizations

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