Austria
Austria is an example to be followed by other states, as it has adhered to all of the seven key treaties in the legal architecture on disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | Yes (Ratified 2018) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1969) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 1998, Annex 2 state) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1996) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2004) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1973) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1995) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compliant |
| Possess or stockpile | Compliant | |
| Test | Compliant | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compliant |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compliant |
| (d) | Use | Compliant |
| Threaten to use | Compliant | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compliant |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compliant |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compliant |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted yes (2024) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 14 (14.5%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | Yes |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | Cleared |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | No |
Latest developments
At the Second Meeting of States Parties (2MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2023, Austria was appointed as the coordinator for a ‘consultative process on security concerns of States’ under the TPNW. It was tasked with preparing a report, based on discussions with states parties and other stakeholders, for the Third Meeting of States Parties in March 2025 ‘containing a comprehensive set of arguments and recommendations’ to better promote and articulate the legitimate security concerns enshrined in the Treaty and to ‘challenge the security paradigm based on nuclear deterrence’.1
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee session in July 2024, Austria urged all states ‘to join the TPNW and to engage actively and constructively with the profound arguments which it is based on’. It noted that the Treaty ‘strengthens the nuclear regime and supports the NPT’ and represents an ‘investment into multilateralism, international law and international peace and security’. The case for the importance of the TPNW ‘is even more pronounced’ at present given the bleak international security environment, it stressed.2
Moreover, Austria described the TPNW as ‘an important and constructive effort’ in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, encapsulating and expressesing in international law ‘the scientific evidence on the humanitarian and environmental consequences of and the risks associated with nuclear weapons’ and articulating ‘a legitimate security perspective’.3
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, Austria described itself as a TPNW champion and warned that ‘we are already in the midst of a new global arms race’ and ‘the existing instruments of arms control are breaking away or have come to a complete standstill’. ‘Against this backdrop, we cannot passively stand by,’ it said.4
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Austria noted that TPNW States parties are ‘working actively’ on the modalities of implementing ‘complete, irreversible and verifiable disarmament’, on providing victim assistance and environmental remediation, and on ‘ensuring the legitimate security concerns of TPNW States are most effectively formulated and communicated’.5
Austria was one of the co-sponsors for the 2024 UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW, which welcomed the Treaty’s entry into force and called upon ‘all States that have not yet done so to sign, ratify, accept, approve or accede to the Treaty at the earliest possible date’.6
Recommendations
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Austria should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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Austria should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.