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A strong commitment to nuclear disarmament: Meeting of the Foreign Ministers of the Stockholm Initiative in Sweden
Meeting of the Stockholm Initiative, © Thomas Imo/photothek.net
Germany seeks to take on a leading role in bolstering international disarmament initiatives. As part of these efforts, Foreign Minister Baerbock is joining the Swedish Foreign Minister Linde in the country’s capital today to co‑host the Stockholm group’s fifth Ministerial Meeting.
What has the Stockholm Initiative achieved so far?
The initiative has already achieved a great deal in just two years since it was founded in 2019. This year, the group drew up a set of proposals under the title Nuclear Risk Reduction Package. The proposals cover a wide range of different areas, including transparent reporting of arsenals as well as greater efforts to expand ratification of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty and to integrate a gender-based analysis of nuclear disarmament and non‑proliferation. The group’s proposals and demands have won the support of numerous countries.
The Stockholm Initiative meeting and the 2022 NPT Review Conference
For the Stockholm Initiative countries, commitment to the NPT (Non‑Proliferation Treaty) is a priority. The NPT obliges the participating nuclear-weapon states to work towards complete nuclear disarmament. In return, non‑nuclear-weapon states agree to refrain from acquiring these weapons. The Treaty also ensures the peaceful use of nuclear energy. Without this agreement, many more states would be in possession of nuclear weapons today. The Treaty is the most important instrument for keeping nuclear threats in check worldwide and is reviewed every five years. The next review will be in 2022.
In light of this upcoming NPT Review Conference, the Stockholm group is engaging in more in‑depth dialogue with the nuclear-weapon states recognised in the Treaty: the US, Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom. It is doing so with the aim of obtaining binding commitments from the nuclear-weapon states on the basis of its proposals. Germany is seeking to ensure that next year’s Review Conference will generate real momentum for nuclear disarmament.
The long-term goal is a world free from nuclear weapons
It remains Germany’s aim to bring about a world free from nuclear weapons. Alongside its involvement in the Stockholm Initiative, Germany works to promote negotiations between the United States and Russia on complete disarmament in the area of sub‑strategic weapons. It also plans to boost the involvement of nuclear-weapon states such as China in nuclear disarmament and arms control in the future.