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One of the more important elements of Latvian security policy is responsible action and observance of international commitments and standards in the areas of armament control and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. Latvia is honouring its commitments by being a member country of all the main agreements and requirements of armaments control and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, and by developing and implementing a strict export control policy.
Latvia co-ordinates its armament control and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction policy with other countries of the EU and NATO. Since the renewal of independence, Latvia's foreign policy and security policy are directed towards preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction throughout the world, and its immediate region, thereby ensuring security and stability at the international and regional levels.
It is especially important not to permit the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction at a time when the threat of terrorism is very real for the entire international comunity, and real potential exists for a flow of weapons of mass destruction from risk countries.
Latvia has joined important treaties and conventions and initiatives on the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction
Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (1992).
The Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons is the most important international Treaty, targeted at averting the proliferation of nuclear weapons and technologies, promoting co-operation in the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, and achieving a general and complete nuclear disarmament. The Treaty came into force in 1970, and 187 countries have joined it to date, five nuclear states among them. Latvia joined the Treaty in 1992.
Implementation of the Treaty is monitored by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The International Atomic Energy Agency, established in 1957 by the UN, is an institution for global co-operation on nuclear issues. The Agency works with its member countries and other involved partners to ensure a safe development of nuclear technologies, to restrict the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and to promote the use of nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
To achieve non-proliferation of nuclear weapons, and the implementation of projects promoting confidence among member countries, safeguards have been developed under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons – implementation of the Treaty is monitored by IAEA inspections.
Latvia has been a member country of IAEA since 1997. Co-operation with IAEA at the technical level is very good (Ministry of Environment, Radiation Safety Centre, State Hazardous Waste Management Agency, and others). Projects supported by IAEA (the cyclotron project, support for Radiation Protection, Waste management and Regulatory Activities and others) will continue to be implemented in Latvia in future years.
In 2006, Latvia, as a member of the Eastern Group of the IAEA, submitted an official application to serve on the Board of IAEA. Latvia will serve on the IAEA Board from 2015 to 2017.
Latvia joined the Agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency on the Application of Safeguards in connection with the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in 1993
Latvia joined the Protocol Additional to the Agreement between Latvia and the IAEA for the Application of Safeguards in 2001.
Convention on the Prohibition of the Development, Production and Stockpiling of Bacteriological (Biological) and Toxic Weapons and on their Destruction
The Convention prohibits the development, production, stockpiling and distribution of biological and toxic weapons and raw materials and equipment intended to create, transport or use such weapons for hostile purposes or in armed conflicts.
According to the Convention, a state must destroy or divert to peaceful purposes existing biological and toxic raw materials, within nine months of the Convention coming into force.
Latvia has been a member country of the Convention since 1997, and has none of the weapons prohibited by the Convention at its disposal
Convention on the Prohibition of Development, Production, Stockpiling and Use of Chemical Weapons and on their Destruction
The Convention has been in force in Latvia since 1996.
The Convention prohibits the development, production, stockpiling, distribution and use of chemical weapons and chemical substances used in their production. It provides that a member country must destroy all chemical weapons at its disposal, and equipment needed for their production, as well as any chemical weapons it has stored in the territory of another member country. Under the Convention, member countries co-operate to promote the use of chemical raw materials for peaceful purposes, and provide assistance to countries in case of threat of attack by chemical weapons.
The implementing mechanism of the Convention is monitored by the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW).
The scope of the Convention includes not only the military sector but also the chemical industry providing restrictions and obligations for the consumption of chemical goods to which provisions of the Convention apply.
Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty
The Treaty was opened for signing on 24 September 1996, when it was signed by 71 countries, including 5 nuclear countries. The Treaty will come into effect 180 days after the date it has been ratified by the countries mentioned in Appendix 2 of the Treaty. To date 34 of these countries have ratified the Treaty (including the nuclear countries Russia, France and the UK). Latvia signed the Treaty on 24 September 1996 and ratified it on 20 November 2001. The Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty prohibits all types of explosions of nuclear weapons, and tests for both civil and military purposes, and restricts the development and improvement of production of nuclear weapons, thus providing an important contribution to ensuring global non-proliferation and nuclear disarmament.
An International Monitoring System (IMS) was established under the auspices of the Treaty verification requirements, using the latest seismological, hydro-acoustic, infra-sound and radio-nuclide technologies, which can register vibrations of possible nuclear explosions underground, in the air and in water over an uninterrupted twenty four hour cycle, and detect radioactive waste in the atmosphere.
The Treaty also provides for the establishment of a Comprehensive Test Ban Treaty Organisation (CTBTO) for the purposes of ensuring implementation of the Treaty and establishing an international consultations and co-operation forum. Operating at present is the CTBTO Preparatory Commission, established for the purpose of promoting the Treaty coming into force.
Latvia regards the CTBT as an important part of the disarmament and non-proliferation regime, and that its coming into force will provide a significant contribution to preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and the global nuclear disarmament process. Latvia acknowledges the important role of a legally binding test ban and a trustworthy monitoring system in ensuring peace and international security.
Proliferation Security Initiative (PSI)
The PSI is a global initiative initiated by U.S. President George Bush during a speech in Krakow on 31 May 2003. The main purpose of the initiative was to improveme inter-state co-operation in restricting and controlling the illegal circulation of weapons of mass destruction, their supply systems, and related materials. The PSI is an important step towards implementing UN Security Council Resolution 1540, and is in accord with the EU strategy of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. The PSI is also an important and practical instrument for the strengthening and application of international mechanisms against new security threats. At present the initiative is supported by more than 70 countries, including Latvia.
The PSI has no organisational structures; it is based on the voluntary participation of countries in projects targeted to achieve as broad an inter-state co-operation as possible, and co-ordination between state institutions and institutions on a national scale.
The Paris PSI meeting in 2003 adopted the Statement of Interdiction Principles (SOP). According to the Principles, participants agree to undertake effective measures to restrict the supply of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons to terrorists and countries which may be interested in the proliferation of these materials.
The PSI Principles invite countries not to become involved in the trade of weapons of mass destruction with risk countries, and permit when necessary the search of ships and airplanes if they are suspected of transporting weapons of mass destruction, their supply systems or related materials. Its main activities are practical training and seminars targeted at involving security services, Customs Officers, Border Guards and other state institutions in preventing the illegal trade in weapons of mass destruction.
Latvia has expressed its support for the PSI and its principles; its representatives have taken part in inter-state meetings and training organised by various countries under the PSI.
Participation in PSI training may be regarded as the optimal form of Latvia's practical involvement in PSI at present. The main benefit of participation in the training is the development of co-operation contacts among the law enforcement agencies of different countries, the co-ordination of such co-operation, and ensuring the exchange of investigation information.
Important international treaties and agreements regulating control of conventional armament are also binding upon Latvia:
Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May Be Excessively Injurious or To Have Indiscriminate Effects - CCWC
Based on the principle of international law that the right of countries to choose means and methods of fighting are not unlimited, the Convention prohibits the use of such individual weapons during an armed conflict as may cause unnecessary and devastating injury to the fighting and civilian population. The Convention is supplemented by five Protocols which detail specific types of weapons whose use is restricted or prohibited by the Convention.
Latvia has been a member country of the Convention since 1993. Latvia has joined the first four Protocols and regularly submits the annual Protocol 2 Report to the UN.
The Ottawa Convention or (Convention on The Prohibition of The Use, Stockpiling, Production And Transfer of Anti-Personal Mines and on their Destruction)
In October 1996, an international conference was held in Canada, following which a declaration was adopted on co-operation between countries in drawing up a comprehensive agreement known as the "Ottawa Convention" to ban the use, storage and production of land mines.
The Ottawa Convention provides for a ban on the use, storage and production of land mines. It provides that land mines not be used, produced, supplied or stored. The Convention also prohibits assistance of any kind to others in undertaking activities prohibited by this Convention. Each State Party undertakes ensure the destruction of all stockpilled anti-personnel mines not later than 4 years after the entry into force of this Convention for that State Party. The Convention does not prohibit remotely-operated mines.
Due to their non-selective action, land mines are considered one of the most inhumane types of weapons in the world, and for this reason, most countries and international organisations actively oppose the use, production and proliferation of these weapons. Most often injured by land mines are not military personnel involved in military conflicts, but specifically members of the civil population. In a number of regions of the world, undetonated land mines and the material loss they cause in addition to injury to civilian victims, has been one of the obstacles to the development of these regions in the post-war period.
Latvia ratified the Ottawa Convention in 2005, and on 1 January 2006 became a full-fledged member country. Latvia has honoured its commitments under Article 4 of the Convention by destroying the land mines which were part of its National Armed Forces armament. A small number of mines were retained for the training of NAF units.
OSCE 1999 Vienna Document
The Vienna Document on "Negotiations on Confidence and Security Building Measures" was adopted at the meeting of the OSCE Forum for Security Co-operation on 16 November 1999. It is one of the OSCE measures for promoting mutual confidence, providing for an annual voluntary exchange of military information among member countries and a mechanism for verifying information. Inspections under the Vienna mechanism permit the obtaining of information on armed forces of neighbour countries, and the present state of such armament.
Military forces are inspected in two ways: as an inspection or an assessment visit. In the latter case, the parameters of army units are checked against the data provided by the member country in the form of annual information exchanges and comprehensive military information exchanges. Inspection may take place only in the application zone for measures of building confidence and security, and in the presence of representatives of the recipient country. The inspecting country forwards the results of the inspection to all OSCE member countries.
The Vienna Document provides for a set number of assessment visits and inspections by member countries, which may be conducted in their territory. (Latvia has been allocated 3 inspections and 1 assessment visit during a calendar year). According to the Vienna Document, member countries may agree between themselves on allocating an additional quota of inspections and assessment visits. Latvia has agreed with Belarus on additional evaluation visit, exchange fo additional information on armed forces, conduct of expert meetings etc.
Latvia is actively honouring its obligations under the 1999 Vienna Document by taking part in the exchange of information, carrying out military inspections and assessment visits in other Vienna Document member countries, and hosting inspections by other countries in Latvia.
Open Skies Treaty - OST
The Open Skies Treaty is one of the instruments of armament control policy implemented by the OSCE, and supplements the activities targeted towards promoting trust and transparency between OSCE member countries. The Treaty provides for mutual reconnaissance and filming flights over the territories of member countries, to acquire information on their armed forces, military sites and activities.
In accordance with the Treaty, countries may each year carry out reconnaissance and inspection flights and are duty bound to host inspections, in accordance with the quotas allocated to each country. The Treaty provides that countries are entitled to one or more active quotas for reconnaissance flights over the territories of other member countries according to a previously co-ordinated plan. The active quotas allocated to a country may not exceed the number of passive quotas.
The Open Skies Treaty came into force in Latvia on 1 January 2002. Latvian armament control experts take part in OST flights, sharing flight quotas with other OST member countries, and facilitate reconnaissance flights of other countries over the territory of Latvia under the Treaty.
Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe - CFE
The Treaty was signed in 1990, and provides for limits on the conventional armament of its member countries. Its aim was to apply limits on NATO and the so-called Warsaw Pact countries. By 1999, agreement was reached on the Adapted CFE (ACFE), which will come into force once the Treaty is ratified. The Adapted Treaty will limit armament of countries according to the territorial principle.
Latvia is not a member country of the Treaty. Latvia regards the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe (CFE) as one of the cornerstones of conventional arms control in Europe, and as an important mechanism for promoting confidence and transparency. For this reason Latvia has always taken great care to comply with the requirements of the Treaty, including the political commitments it embodies.
Latvia has never ruled out the possibility of joining the ACFE, and has said so publicly. However, the procedure for new countries to join the Treaty can be commenced only once it has come into force, which will follow ratification of the ACFE by all its member countries. Latvian guidelines in starting the procedure for joining the ACEF Treaty will be in its national interests, as well as the need for development of its defence system and commitments to our allies.
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