EU Statement – UN Disarmament Commission: General Exchange of Views
Dear Chair,
We congratulate you on your appointment as Chair of the UN Disarmament Commission. Please rest assured of the EU’s support and cooperation.
The international security context is profoundly marked by the war in Iran and its unacceptable attacks against the countries of the Middle East, as well as by Russia’s continuing illegal war of aggression against Ukraine, and regional proliferation crises. Collective action is needed to advance disarmament and non-proliferation efforts, reduce risks of miscalculation, and prevent further deterioration. The EU fully acknowledges the UNDC’s role as a specialised, subsidiary body for in-depth deliberations on specific disarmament issues with the objective of arriving at consensus recommendations. We all bear a collective responsibility to ensure that the UN disarmament machinery remains relevant, and its bodies deliver results in line with their agreed mandates. We urge colleagues to engage constructively and find common ground. The EU will continue to uphold the rules-based international order, including international law and the UN Charter, support effective multilateralism with the UN at its core, and contribute to defending, promoting and further strengthening the international non-proliferation and disarmament architecture, including multilateral export control regimes.
Chair,
The EU remains fully committed to developing recommendations for achieving the objectives of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation of nuclear weapons in Working Group I.
The EU reaffirms its unequivocal support to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as the cornerstone of the global nuclear non-proliferation regime, the essential foundation for the pursuit of nuclear disarmament according to its Article VI, and an important element in developing nuclear energy applications for peaceful purposes according to its Article IV. While acknowledging the challenges that it faces, we recognise the indispensable value of the NPT and its historic achievements, and consider it crucial to the maintenance of international peace and security. Ahead of the upcoming Review Conference, we call on all States Parties to engage constructively and contribute towards a meaningful and forward-looking outcome.
The EU reiterates its support for all three mutually reinforcing pillars of the NPT and for the comprehensive, balanced, and full implementation of the 2010 NPT Review Conference Action Plan. We stress the urgent need to implement all obligations under the NPT, as well as commitments made during previous Review Conferences, including the need for concrete progress towards full implementation of Article VI, with the ultimate goal of total elimination of nuclear weapons.
Encouraged by the progress made in discussions on strengthening the NPT review process in this cycle, the EU will work actively towards a RevCon decision as a central deliverable, with an emphasis on enhancing transparency and accountability, by establishing a process within the cycle for reviewing the implementation of NPT obligations and commitments by States Parties and promoting further qualitative improvements to reporting.
Chair,
With the expiry of the New START Treaty, we now face a world marked by the absence of an agreed framework for nuclear arms control. Recalling the obligations of all nuclear-weapon States arising from Article VI of the NPT, the EU reiterates its commitment to further reductions of nuclear arsenals and, underlining the special responsibility of the States with the largest nuclear arsenals, strongly encourages seeking further reductions to their nuclear arsenals, including strategic and non-strategic, as well as deployed and non-deployed, nuclear weapons. We welcome the repeated offers of dialogue made by the United States, urge Russia to engage meaningfully, and call on China to engage actively and constructively. While not a substitute for nuclear disarmament, concrete risk reduction measures, including measures to reduce the risk of nuclear conflict, should be pursued.
We condemn in the strongest possible way Russia’s actions, its nuclear rhetoric, and its threats to use nuclear force in its war of aggression against Ukraine, which are irresponsible, provocative, dangerous and escalatory. The EU urges Russia to cease attacks on Ukraine’s nuclear facilities and related infrastructure, which constitute a serious threat to nuclear safety and security. We once again strongly condemn Russia’s war of aggression against Ukraine, and the illegal seizure of the Zaporizhzhia Nuclear Power Plant, which is a grave violation of the UN Charter and the very principles of the IAEA Statute. The latest update of Russia’s nuclear doctrine no longer includes “compliance with international arms control obligations” among the principles of Russia’s deterrence policy. We are also deeply concerned about Russia’s announced deployment of nuclear weapons in the territory of Belarus and categorically oppose the development and deployment of nuclear weapons and any other types of weapons of mass destruction in outer space.
We are deeply concerned about China’s rapid and opaque expansion of its nuclear arsenal, which is inconsistent with its disarmament commitments under the NPT. Its lack of transparency about its doctrine, policies, and expanding arsenal raises serious doubts about the credibility of its ‘No First Use’ policy and fuels mistrust. We encourage China to engage in risk reduction and nuclear arms control, including by enhancing transparency, establishing necessary communication lines to prevent misperceptions, and clarifying its strategic objectives.
Any explosive nuclear weapon test by any State would be harmful and destabilising for global non-proliferation efforts and for international peace and security. The EU stresses the need to promote universal adherence to and the entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) and reaffirms its commitment to upholding and strengthening the norm against nuclear testing. We call on all States to abide by the existing moratorium on nuclear weapon test explosions or any other nuclear explosion, and to refrain from any action contrary to the object and purpose of the Treaty.
The EU reiterates its call for the immediate commencement and early conclusion of negotiations of a treaty banning the production of fissile material for use in nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices (FMCT). Pending the entry into force of such an FMCT, we call on China, the only nuclear-weapon State not to have done so, and any other States concerned, to declare and uphold an immediate moratorium on the production of fissile material for nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices.
Chair,
The EU stresses the urgent need to address decisively the multiple existing nuclear proliferation challenges, in order to preserve and strengthen the NPT’s positive record. The safeguards system of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) is a fundamental component of the NPT. Comprehensive Safeguards Agreements, together with the Additional Protocol, constitute the current IAEA verification standard and should be universalised without delay. Effective export controls are fundamental to compliance with non-proliferation obligations under Article III of the NPT and all relevant UN Security Council resolutions.
The EU has always been clear that Iran must never be allowed to seek, acquire, or develop a nuclear weapon. The High Representative will continue to contribute to diplomatic efforts to reduce tensions and to bring about a lasting solution to the Iranian nuclear issue in line with the UN Security Council resolutions reinstated after completion of the snapback process, which can only be achieved through negotiations. We remain in close contact with partners in the region to contribute to de-escalation and reaffirm our steadfast commitment to safeguarding regional security and stability. We continue to urge Iran to resume full cooperation with the IAEA and to fully adhere to its obligations under the NPT, its legally binding Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, and the reinstated UN Security Council resolutions. We stress that the reinstated UN Security Council resolutions create obligations for all UN Member States.
The EU reiterates its call on the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (DPRK) to abandon all its WMD, ballistic missile, and existing nuclear programmes in a complete, verifiable, and irreversible manner, as required by UN Security Council resolution 2397 (2017). DPRK must return to full compliance with the NPT as a non-nuclear-weapon State and with its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement, bring into force the Additional Protocol, refrain from testing nuclear weapons and ballistic missiles, re-establish its pre-existing commitments to a moratorium on all missile launches and nuclear tests, and sign and ratify the CTBT. DPRK will never be accepted as a nuclear-weapon State under the NPT or have any other special status in that regard. We urge DPRK to engage in meaningful discussions with all relevant parties to build a basis for sustainable peace and security and to take steps aimed at pursuing the complete, verifiable, and irreversible denuclearisation of the Korean Peninsula.
Chair,
The EU welcomes the discussions in Working Group II on common understandings related to emerging technologies in the context of international security and is willing to contribute to taking them to fruition in the form of UNDC recommendations.
The EU remains fully engaged within the Group of Governmental Experts on Lethal Autonomous Weapons Systems. The Group has made important progress, reached common understandings on principles, is slowly but steadily approaching consensus on major issues regarding these weapon systems, and has worked on advancing a normative framework for their regulation. We remain fully committed to helping fulfil the mandate of the Group as soon as possible and expect to find agreement on a set of elements for a future instrument, without prejudging its nature, in time for the 2026 Review Conference of the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons (CCW). We encourage States to join the CCW and contribute to the work of the GGE. To this effect, the EU adopted a decision in November 2025 to fund a 3-year project in support of strengthening the Convention.
The EU will remain engaged in the REAIM process on responsible military use of artificial intelligence (AI), and we are grateful for the commitment of the Netherlands, the Republic of Korea and Spain in taking this process forward. We further note that the multi-stakeholder character of the process has proven an asset in making progress on common understandings of emerging technologies in the military domain. The EU takes careful note of the conclusions of REAIM2026 and the recommendations contained therein, including a focus on capacity building to ensure the objective of responsible military use of AI.
In line with UNGA resolution 80/58 on artificial intelligence in the military domain and its implications for international peace and security, the EU will engage in the first informal exchanges with member states and stakeholders in June and supports initiatives to assess and raise awareness about these implications, such as UNIDIR’s EU-funded project ‘Science and Technology Watchtower: Monitoring Innovation for Disarmament’.
Chair,
Emerging technologies like AI have the potential to increase the volume and severity of cyberattacks. They are boosting the capabilities of both State and non-State actors and lowering barriers to entry for causing harm in cyberspace. Last summer, the Open-ended Working Group on the security of and in the use of information and communications technologies concluded its work and the decision was taken to set up a single, permanent Global Mechanism on cybersecurity. The mechanism allows for inclusive, meaningful, and ongoing engagement on a regular basis to address existing and emerging threats to international peace and security in cyberspace. The EU is firmly committed to making the UN Global Mechanism a success. It is now important to focus on tangible steps forward in implementing all elements of the framework of responsible state behaviour, in order to benefit from a free, open, secure, stable, and peaceful cyberspace.
Space threats are rising, undermining the security of space assets with potentially severe consequences on earth. To tackle the most pressing threats, a pragmatic approach focused on norms, rules, and principles of responsible behaviour is the most effective and immediate way to reach these results. For this reason, the EU continues to support the work of the Open-ended Working Group on the prevention of an arms race in outer space in all its aspects and plans to participate in its upcoming substantive sessions in an active and constructive manner in the hope that the OEWG will arrive at a substantive outcome and strengthen space security.
Chair,
We look forward to the debates of UNDC and its Working Groups, in the hope that they will also contribute to revitalising the role of the UN in the field of disarmament, as set forth in the Pact for the Future.
Thank you, Chair.