Cook Islands
The Cook Islands participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties (2MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in November-December 2023, where it reiterated its ‘commitment to a safer, more peaceful world, one free from nuclear weapons’. It noted that the ‘painful nuclear testing legacy still remains fresh in the mind of many of our Pacific island neighbours’.1
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | Yes (Acceded 2018) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes* | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2005) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1986, Rarotonga) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1972)* | |
| AP with the IAEA | No | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 2008) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1994) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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) | N/A |
| Participated in 3MSP (2025) | No |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 1.5 (75%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | N/A |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | N/A |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | N/A |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | No |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | Yes (Original)* |
Latest developments
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting in April 2025, the States Parties to the South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty, including the Cook Islands, reaffirmed their commitment to a nuclear-weapon-free world. ‘As a region devastatingly affected by nuclear testing, the slow pace of nuclear disarmament is a significant concern,’ they said.2
At a high-level event on 26 September 2025 marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, the Pacific Islands Forum, of which the Cook Islands is a member State, noted the ‘significant contribution’ of the 1985 South Pacific Nuclear Free Zone Treaty to nuclear non-proliferation and disarmament and to ‘inspiring other nuclear-weapon-free zones around the world’.3
Recommendations
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The Cook Islands should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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The Cook Islands should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.
* Through territorial application by New Zealand