The Holy See urged the UN NPT conference to uphold protections for nuclear sites, warning that attacks risk devastating radioactive releases worldwide.
Newsroom (11/05/2026 Gaudium Press ) The Holy See’s intervention at the UN’s NPT conference comes amid heightened global anxiety over strikes on nuclear sites in Ukraine and Iran. Msgr. Robert D. Murphy delivered the address on May 5, 2026, at the United Nations in New York on behalf of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See.
The Vatican issued a pointed warning to the international community on May 5, urging world governments to uphold what it called a “longstanding consensus” that armed attacks on nuclear facilities must be unconditionally prohibited — a statement that arrives as the world grapples with the aftermath of recent military strikes targeting nuclear infrastructure in multiple countries.
Addressing the Main Committee III of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) review conference at United Nations headquarters in New York, Msgr. Robert D. Murphy, Chargé d’Affaires of the Permanent Observer Mission of the Holy See to the United Nations, delivered a measured but unmistakable rebuke of such strikes, warning that they “could result in radioactive releases with serious consequences for the affected State and beyond.”
Though Msgr. Murphy named no countries specifically, the remarks landed against a backdrop that required little elaboration: Ukrainian forces have struck a Russian-occupied nuclear plant, and the United States conducted strikes on Iranian nuclear sites in the preceding year — incidents that have sent tremors through the architecture of international nuclear governance.
A Moral Voice in a Technical Forum
The NPT, which entered into force in 1970, enshrines the right of all signatory states to pursue nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, provided they comply with non-proliferation obligations. The Holy See, a long-standing non-voting permanent observer to the United Nations, has historically used such forums to inject ethical and humanitarian considerations into discussions that can otherwise be dominated by technical and geopolitical calculation.
In his address, Msgr. Murphy framed the protection of nuclear facilities not merely as a matter of international law, but as a humanitarian imperative. “Recent events have drawn attention to the seriousness of such risks,” he said, citing “the potential for radioactive releases with far-reaching humanitarian and environmental consequences.”
The Vatican’s statement went further than simply condemning violence. It drew attention to the full lifecycle of nuclear risk, from uranium mining to the management of radioactive waste, calling for “responsible and sustainable approaches that integrate environmental protection, public health considerations, and the needs of present and future generations.”
The IAEA’s Central Role
A significant portion of the Holy See’s address was devoted to affirming the indispensable role of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) — the UN body responsible for verifying that nuclear programs remain peaceful. Msgr. Murphy praised the Agency’s technical cooperation programs and capacity-building initiatives, particularly as they apply to developing nations.
“These efforts are particularly significant for developing countries, where access to these applications is not yet guaranteed equally,” he said, underscoring that the benefits of nuclear technology — in medicine, agriculture, food security, water management, and environmental monitoring — remain unevenly distributed across the globe.
The Holy See also endorsed the universal adoption of the IAEA’s Additional Protocol, a strengthened safeguards agreement that gives the Agency broader inspection rights. Murphy called the protocol “important in building confidence that nuclear programmes are devoted exclusively to peaceful purposes” — a carefully worded endorsement that implicitly acknowledges ongoing concerns about states that have resisted such oversight.
Rights and Responsibilities
Throughout the speech, a consistent thread emerged: that the right to peaceful nuclear energy is inseparable from the obligations it entails. “Full and balanced implementation of this principle is essential to the integrity and credibility of the Treaty as a whole,” Murphy stated, adding that exercising such rights is “inseparable from the responsibilities it entails, as well as the trust on which the Treaty is founded.”
This framing is characteristically Vatican — grounding a legal and technical argument in the language of moral responsibility and international trust. The Holy See does not possess nuclear technology, nor is it a nuclear-weapon state, yet its voice at forums like this carries weight precisely because it is perceived as disinterested, speaking from principle rather than strategic self-interest.
A Nuclear-Free Middle East
In a notable passage, the Holy See expressed support for the establishment of a Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone in the Middle East — a long-sought but persistently elusive goal that has been stalled for decades by regional rivalries and the unacknowledged nuclear arsenal of Israel. Murphy called on all states possessing nuclear weapons to ratify the protocols to existing Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone treaties, lending the Vatican’s moral authority to what remains one of the most diplomatically sensitive proposals in global arms control.
The Broader Stakes
The Vatican’s intervention arrives at a moment of acute strain on the global non-proliferation regime. The NPT review process has repeatedly stumbled in recent years, with review conferences failing to produce consensus final documents. Military action against nuclear sites — regardless of the political justifications offered — risks normalizing behavior that experts warn could trigger cascading catastrophes.
By choosing to speak directly to this threat, even without naming the states involved, the Holy See signaled that the moral stakes of nuclear security are too high for diplomatic silence. As Msgr. Murphy concluded: “The peaceful use of nuclear energy must be guaranteed, in full respect of international safeguards and obligations. Only then can it foster trust among States and contribute to a more peaceful and secure world.”
- Raju Hasmukh with files from Holy See MIssion.org
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