Iraq
Iraq attended as an observer the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (1MSP) in Vienna in June 2022. It has previously indicated that the issue of adhering to the TPNW is still under consideration by the government. Iraq voted in favour of adopting the TPNW at the UN Diplomatic Conference in 2017 and has consistently voted in favour of the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the Treaty, including in 2022.
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Test | Compatible | |
| Possess or stockpile | 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 (2022) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Observer |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 2 (100%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | No |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1969) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2013) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1991) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Acceded 2009) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | Cleared |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
Iraq 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.
Marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2022, the Arab Group in the UN, of which Iraq is a member, delivered a statement that described the TPNW as ‘a very important treaty’ and noted the active participation of Arab states in the work leading to the Treaty’s adoption in 2017.1
At the Tenth Review Conference for the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, Iraq expressed concern about the ‘ongoing nuclear arms race’ and gaps in implementation of disarmament commitments and obligations. It called for ‘united efforts to overcome the impasse’ in advancing the goal of a world without nuclear weapons.2
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2022, Iraq said that it ‘believes that strengthening the universality of international agreements and instruments on disarmament, especially those on comprehensive nuclear disarmament, is the only guarantee against the use or threat of use of these weapons’.3
Recommendations
- Iraq should urgently adhere to the TPNW.