Non – Proliferation and Disarmament (Weapons of Mass Destruction)

Aware of the ever-changing global security environment, Greece, based on a principled and realistic position, looks forward to taking parallel steps in the interrelated goals of progressive disarmament and non – proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction.

It is Greece's conviction that the international architecture of non-proliferation and disarmament must not only be maintained but also further enhanced. It is imperative to preserve the cornerstone of nuclear non-proliferation (Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons - NPT) as well as to enhance it in the future (initiating negotiations for a Fissile Material Cut-off Treaty with the necessary verification mechanism).

Greece unwaveringly supports the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (J.C.P.o.A.) - a coherent agreement on Iran's nuclear program - and insists on the need to preserve it through its full and continuous implementation.

Greece condemns the irrational, provocative, and illegal steps of North Korea in developing its military nuclear and ballistic program, advocating for the latter's return to international legality (Pyongyang's re-commitment to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and implementation of the Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA, with the ultimate goal of the complete, verifiable and irreversible dismantling of its militarised nuclear programme).

In the face of the existing threat of nuclear weapon proliferation, Greece has ardently, for years, fought for the establishment of "nuclear-weapon-free zones" in areas of the world that are geopolitically significant and vulnerable due to crises, attaching particular importance – as does the EU as a whole – to convening a conference for the establishment of a zone free of Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East.

The proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction (Nuclear, Chemical, Biological) constitutes one of the gravest threats to international peace and security. Their use is in complete contradiction to the principles of International Law, and in particular Humanitarian Law. Furthermore, the risk of linking artificial intelligence with WMDs is an additional factor of concern for the international community.

In the framework of the EU Common Position, Greece supports the universalization of the international legal framework on disarmament, being a contracting party to the Non-Proliferation Treaty, the Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty, the Chemical Weapons Convention and the Biological & Toxic Weapon Convention.

Greece is a member of all the specific Export Control Regimes concerning Weapons of Mass Destruction (WMD carrier technologies, WMD production materials and WMD firing techniques) that exist alongside the international legal framework on disarmament. These regimes are: the Nuclear Suppliers Group (NSG) on nuclear energy (nuclear reactor materials and technologies), the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR), the Australia Group on chemical and biological weapons, the Wassenaar Arrangement (which oversees the exports of conventional arms, dual-use materials and their new technologies) and, finally, the Zangger Committee on nuclear fuel trafficking.

Conventional Weapons

Greece has signed and ratified the most significant international Treaties and/or Conventions for the Restriction or Elimination of Certain Conventional Weapons and actively participates in the contracting parties' conferences to them. In particular:

-The Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons (CCWC), with its five protocols prohibiting the use of: a) weapons whose fragments in the human body are not radiologically detectable, b) mines, c) incendiary weapons, d) weapons that cause blindness or dramatic reduction of vision, and e) explosive remnants of war. In the same context, Greece actively participates in the negotiations for the conclusion of a regulatory framework for Lethal Autonomous Weapon Systems (LAWS).

-The Ottawa Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on their Destruction, which prohibits the use of anti-personnel mines, with our country completing the destruction of mines in its registered minefields across Greek territory in 2010, four (4) years before its contractual obligation.

- The Arms Trade Treaty (ATT), an international legally binding document that supervises and regulates the legal trade of the main categories of conventional weapons, including Small Arms and Light Weapons.

- The Political Declaration on Strengthening the Protection of Civilians from the Use of Explosive Weapons in Populated Areas (Dublin, 18.11.2022), as its content is consistent with the general principles and existing rules of International Humanitarian Law already adopted by our country for the protection of civilians during military operations.

At the same time, our country has consistently participated since 2001 in the meetings of the UN Programme of Action on Small Arms and Light Weapons, which are held biennially with the aim of promoting closer synergies among states to combat the illicit arms trade through strengthening their national legislation as well as interstate and regional support.

Finally, Greece, along with 47 countries, endorsed on 05.10.2016 “the Joint Declaration for the Export and Subsequent Use of Armed or Strike Enabled Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)”, upon a US initiative. The ultimate goal of this very initiative is to adopt global norms and standards on the export and subsequent Use of UAVs.