Swedish Statement at the Security Council Open Briefing on Non-proliferation of Weapons of Mass Destruction

Mr President,

Let me begin by thanking the briefers, Under Secretary-General Nakamitsu, Mr Ballard, and my colleague, Ambassador Llorentty Soliz, for their comprehensive and informative briefings. Sweden would also like to align itself with the statements that will be made by the European Union, by Spain on behalf of the Group of Friends of Resolution 1540, and by Norway on behalf of the Nordic countries.

Today's discussion on Resolution 1540 and the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, particularly with regard to non-state actors is very timely. As we have seen from recent terrorist attacks, the aim of the perpetrators is to indiscriminately injure and kill as many innocent people as possible. Therefore, we must be alert to the fact that there is a real threat of non-state actors seeking to procure and use weapons of mass destruction.

Sweden remains strongly committed to the strengthening of the multilateral disarmament and non-proliferation regimes, not least in the field of nuclear disarmament. Resolution 1540 is an important complement to those regimes. The use of chemical weapons by Da'esh and the enduring ability of some states with weapons of mass destruction aspirations to contravene export controls bear witness to the continuing and growing relevance of Resolution 1540.

Mr President,

As we heard from Ambassador Llorentty Soliz, progress has been achieved in the implementation of Resolution 1540, but much work remains to be done to ensure its application globally.

Sweden is committed to supporting this work. We recently made a special contribution to the UN Office for Disarmament Affairs for 1540 implementation. In addition, we are contributing to global efforts in support of the resolution's objectives through the nuclear security cooperation programme of the Swedish Radiation Safety Agency, and our engagement in the G7 Global Partnership programme, where we currently co-chair the Biosecurity Sub-Working Group.

We should not limit our attention to items and materials alone; knowledge and information also represent important factors in the attainment of weapons of mass destruction. It is important to highlight the risks associated with intangible transfers of technology, whereby sensitive know-how might be transferred through research, industry or social media. This is an issue that we raised repeatedly during last year's comprehensive review. As vice-chair of the 1540 Committee, we are currently considering ways of highlighting this issue, for instance via an outreach event.

Finally, we would like to congratulate Spain once more for the proactive and committed way in which they led the comprehensive review last year, and commend Bolivia for the continuation of these efforts under its leadership. It is essential that we continue to take into consideration the evolving proliferation threats as we move forward towards the global implementation of Resolution 1540 and 2325.

Mr President,

The threat from the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction poses to international peace and security continues to grow. It is only through states working together in full support for the multilateral institutions we have put in place that can this threat be managed.

Thank you.