Bahrain
Bahrain voted in favour of adopting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) at the UN diplomatic conference in 2017 and has consistently voted in favour of the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the TPNW, including in 2025. It maintains policies and practices that are compatible with all of the prohibitions in Article 1 of the TPNW, and can therefore sign and ratify or accede to the Treaty without the need for a change in conduct.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1988) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2004) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2009) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2011) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 1988) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Possess or stockpile | Compatible | |
| Test | Compatible | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compatible |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compatible |
| (d) | Use | Compatible |
| Threaten to use | Compatible | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compatible |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compatible |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compatible |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted yes (2025) |
| Participated in 3MSP (2025) | No |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | No |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| 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 | No |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | Yes (Revised) |
Latest developments
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting in April 2025, Bahrain emphasized that the total elimination of nuclear weapons in accordance with Article VI of the NPT ‘is the only guarantee against the use or threatened use of these weapons’.1
In the general debate of the 80th session of the UN General Assembly in September 2025, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bahrain, Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani, reaffirmed ‘the importance of joint action to rid the Middle East of weapons of mass destruction [and] spare it the risks of an arms race and military escalation’.2
At a high-level event on 26 September 2025 marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, Bahrain called on all States to take concrete steps towards disarmament and said that it was ‘prepared to cooperate with everybody for a world free of nuclear weapons’.3
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, Bahrain emphasized that ‘the only way to guarantee the non-use or threat of use of nuclear weapons is through their complete elimination, in accordance with Article VI of the [NPT]’.4
Recommendations
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Bahrain should urgently adhere to the TPNW.