Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons

Mr President,
I would like to congratulate you, Ambassador Zlauvinen, on your election as President of this Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons. Please be assured of my delegation’s full support.
Luxembourg fully associates itself with the statement of the European Union. Allow me to highlight a few points in my national capacity.
Luxembourg condemns in the strongest terms the unjustified and unprovoked war of aggression waged by the Russian Federation against Ukraine, with the involvement of Belarus. The invasion of Ukraine, a sovereign country that has renounced nuclear weapons, by Russia, a nuclear power, seriously undermines international security and stability and is a flagrant violation of international law, as well as of the principles established by the Charter of the United Nations. Russia has violated the Budapest Memorandum. We have heard threats from Russia to use nuclear weapons. Russian military forces are still occupying the Zaporizhzhia nuclear power plant in Ukraine. These acts, amongst many others committed throughout this war, are unacceptable. They undermine nuclear safety and security in Ukraine, and they weaken the global security architecture.
The NPT remains the cornerstone of the international nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation architecture. Luxembourg stresses the need to respect and implement all obligations under the NPT, as well as commitments made at previous Review Conferences. We remain committed to the cessation of the nuclear arms race at an early date and to nuclear disarmament in accordance with Article VI of the Treaty. To this end, Luxembourg supports a series of concrete proposals, including the Stockholm Initiative for Nuclear Disarmament.
In the current security context, it is crucial that we achieve tangible results. We must continue our efforts to halt the quantitative and qualitative proliferation of nuclear arsenals and their delivery systems. We must also reverse the trend of undermining key instruments for arms control, which has resulted in the termination of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty in 2019.
Luxembourg calls on nuclear weapon states to strengthen confidence building, verification and risk reduction measures and to reduce the importance of nuclear weapons in security doctrines. Luxembourg welcomed the joint declaration of 3 January 2022, in which the Heads of State and Government of the P5 affirmed that a nuclear war cannot be won and must never be fought. However, the threats coming from Russia are in contradiction with this declaration. We also reiterate our call on China, Egypt, the United States, India, Iran, Israel, Pakistan and the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea to ratify the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty to enable its early entry into force.
It is crucial to address the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons. It is also essential to ensure that the responsible use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes takes place in the best possible safety, security and non-proliferation conditions. The International Atomic Energy Agency plays a central role in verification through comprehensive safeguards agreements and their additional protocols. We reiterate that it is imperative to ensure the highest standards of nuclear safety, security and safeguards in order to avoid new proliferation crises.
Luxembourg welcomes and supports the ongoing diplomatic efforts to restore the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action on the Iranian nuclear issue and to ensure the full implementation of Security Council Resolution 2231. Finally, we call on the DPRK to stop defying the decisions of the Security Council and to engage in good faith in talks with a view to achieving its complete, verifiable and irreversible denuclearisation and thus laying the foundations for lasting peace and security on the Korean peninsula.
Mr President,
For Luxembourg, the NPT remains an irreplaceable foundation for international peace and security. This Review Conference will have achieved its goal if it allows us to reaffirm the relevance of the NPT, in a deteriorating security environment, through an inclusive multilateralism. We must return to the path set out in the 2010 Action Plan and thus stay the course towards a world without nuclear weapons. This is in the interest of us all.
Thank you.

Tenth Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (Pdf, 365 Kb) (PDF)