Topic:
Country: Spain
Delegate Name: Sam Zaruba
Disarmament and International Security Committee
Nuclear Disarmament and Emerging Nuclear States
Kingdom of Spain
Sam Zaruba
With the onset of World War 2 plaguing the globe, nations’ economies worked overtime to produce weapons to fend off, or defend, the Nazi regime. In response, two nuclear bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, the United States, instantly killing 200,000 people. This event marked a new era for the world, an era prioritizing the precarious tight-rope act of limiting nations’ nuclear arsenals. With about 13,080 weapons still reportedly in stockpiles and counting, concern for the world’s welfare is rising. Although some treaties have restricted atomic weapons, many countries have made advancements to ascertain and establish large nuclear arsenals. In June 2022, UN Secretary-General António Guterres opened the First Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons by urging that nuclear weapons are “a deadly reminder of countries’ inability to solve problems through dialogue and collaboration.”
Among the people of Spain, the issue of emerging nuclear states is concerning, with 89% of Spaniards approving the proposed Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). However, a dispassionate government deems that the TPNW undermines the potential for amendments to the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). Despite this, Spain has signed and ratified the NPT and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT). As for the TPNW, Spain finds that the lack of sufficient signatories with nuclear weapons belittles the impact that the TPNW would have in regard to the NPT. With the onset of a new, right-wing government in 2018, Spain’s original intentions for signing the TPNW were backtracked. These same Spanish government officials posit that Spain advocates for nuclear disarmament, but “from a realist perspective which takes into account security commitments and allows for progress towards that objective.” Spain’s tight connections with NATO make it a primary ally of the US and an Atlanticist. With very little public or government interest in nuclear weapons, Spain stands with the NPT and is content under NATO’s “umbrella.”
Although worried about the rise of nuclear weapons intended for military use and irresponsible leaders, The Kingdom of Spain holds firm that these weapons can be implemented to prevent the former and indirectly disarm the latter. If nuclear weapons can serve as a deterrent to a military invasion, the retention of these weapons would save countless lives from unnecessary wars. The proliferation of nuclear weapons can be minimized through NATO and other collective treaty organizations. Spain insists on reductions in nuclear armaments involving all states that possess them and stresses the importance of foreign states’ entry to the CTBT. Furthermore, Spain also urges states such as the US to cooperate on nuclear-related issues, including new US-Russia reductions in strategic and non-strategic weapons. Moreover, Spain is worried about the expiration of landmark agreements between the US and Russia, which have been allowed to expire, such as The 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty and The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. Overall, Spain is a concerned bystander who favors the NATO “umbrella” and the safety of multilateral treaties and agreements.
