Kazakhstan
Kazakhstan inherited nuclear weapons from the Soviet Union but renounced them and has since advocated for nuclear disarmament. Together with Kiribati, Kazakhstan is serving as co-facilitator on Articles 6 and 7 for the TPNW’s First Meeting of States Parties in 2022. In that role, they have produced working papers and held consultations with states, international organizations, and civil society, with the goal of generating recommendations to advance the Treaty’s implementation that would be included in the Meeting's outcome documents.
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compliant |
| Test | Compliant | |
| Possess or stockpile | 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 | |
|---|---|
| 2021 UNGA resolution on TPNW | |
| 2020 UNGA resolution on TPNW | |
| 2019 UNGA resolution on TPNW | Voted yes |
| 2018 UNGA resolution on TPNW | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations | Yes |
| Share of women in TPNW negotiations | 0% |
| Vote on adoption of treaty text | Voted yes |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards Agreement | Yes |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Fissile material production facilities | No |
| Highly enriched uranium stocks | 1000–10 000 kg |
| Plutonium stocks (mil/civ) | No/No |
| Related treaties and regimes | |
|---|---|
| Party to the BWC | Yes |
| Party to the CWC | Yes |
| Party to the PTBT | No |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes |
| Party to the NPT | Yes |
| Party to a NWFZ | Yes (Semipalatinsk) |
| Member of the CD | Yes |
Latest developments
In a statement to the 2021 UN General Assembly's High-Level Plenary Meeting to Commemorate and Promote the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, the President of Kazakhstan, Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, welcomed the entry into force of the TPNW as a 'positive development', and noted: 'Circumstances and strategic thinking can and do change rapidly – nuclear weapons are a political choice.'1
In the First Committee of the 2021 UN General Assembly, Kazakhstan said: 'The obvious lack of progress in disarmament resulted in the recent adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, which should complement the [Non-Proliferation Treaty].'2
Kazakhstan was one of the co-sponsors of the 2021 UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW, which 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'.3
Recommendations
- Kazakhstan should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
- Kazakhstan should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures, including by requesting that Russia continue to refrain from all testing of nuclear-capable missiles at Sary Shagan.