Physical Address
Indirizzo: Via Mario Greco 60, Buttigliera Alta, 10090, Torino, Italy
The permanent representative of Algeria to the United Nations Office in Geneva and international organizations in Switzerland, Rachid Bladehane, affirmed, Thursday, the “absolute and unconditional” commitment of Algeria to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), warning against “the disastrous consequences” caused by the use of this type of weapon threatening international peace and security.
In his speech on nuclear disarmament and security guarantees, during the work of the 2nd session of the 2nd Preparatory Committee of the 11th Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons 2026, the diplomat stressed the Algerian delegation’s adherence to the data put forward on behalf of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) group, the African group and the Arab group. On this occasion, Mr. Bladehane displayed Algeria’s “absolute and unconditional” commitment to the NPT, recalling its “axial” role in nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament.
Algeria calls on “all parties that have not yet ratified the NPT to adhere to it without delay or preconditions, urging the nuclear States signatories to the Treaty to honor their commitments and assume their responsibilities in this regard,” continued Mr. Bladehane.
The diplomat reaffirmed, in his speech, that Algeria was committed to “ensuring the balance between the three foundations of the Treaty and to acting for their implementation on an equal footing.” “Algeria insists on the implementation by the signatory countries of their commitments under the Treaty but also on taking measures to reduce and eliminate nuclear weapons, through a progressive and credible approach (…)”, added the Algerian diplomat, noting the role of the NPT, in supporting the efforts of the international community aimed at achieving nuclear disarmament, as well as its “sure” contribution to consolidating efforts to completely eliminate nuclear weapons, which should constitute, he said, “a motivation for the reactivation of the Conference on Disarmament, in order to negotiate the issue of the elimination of nuclear weapons on the basis of other international instruments, being the only space for negotiation in the field of disarmament.”
The Algerian delegation also reiterated the need for the “immediate” entry into force of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), to consolidate the international system of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, calling on “all stakeholders to ratify the Treaty.”
The delegation also called for “the acceleration of the launch of negotiations, within the framework of the Conference on Disarmament, on a non-discriminatory multilateral treaty, which prohibits the production of fissile materials intended for the manufacture of nuclear weapons or other explosive nuclear devices, being one of the 13 measures adopted during the work of the NPT Review Conference in 2000, which took place under the presidency of Algeria.” “It also advocated for the elimination of stocks of these materials,” he continued.
Bladehane stressed that Algeria advocates the “complete and definitive” elimination of nuclear weapons, which, in fact, is the only way to eliminate and prohibit these weapons through binding and non-discriminatory international instruments. “Bilateral agreements on the reduction of nuclear arsenals and measures to reduce nuclear risks, although important, cannot be an alternative to the commitments set out in Article 6 of the Treaty,” the Algerian diplomat argued, recalling that “the possession of nuclear weapons by nuclear States is a temporary state and should not be considered as an acquired legitimate right or a permanent state.”
He noted that “the protection of non-nuclear-weapon States against any use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is a fundamental and necessary right, stipulated by paragraph four of Article 2 of the Charter of the United Nations and paragraph 12 of the preamble to the NPT.” In this context, Algeria welcomed the adoption of the action programme of the Conference on Disarmament for the year 2024, urging the body responsible for security assurances to negotiate a legally binding instrument concerning all negative security assurances that the five nuclear States parties to the Treaty must provide to non-nuclear-weapon States parties to the Treaty, without conditions.
Furthermore, the Algerian delegation deplored the failure to achieve the objectives of the first foundation of this agreement relating to nuclear disarmament and the commitments resulting from the periodic review conferences, including the thirteen (13) concrete measures adopted by the 2000 conference and the action plan adopted at the 2010 conference.