Skip to main content
States parties

Kiribati

Kiribati participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023, for which it served as a vice-president. It described the TPNW as ‘a milestone in the nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation area’ and said that its top priorities under the Treaty were ‘to raise awareness about the humanitarian impact of nuclear weapons and make progress on the establishment of the international trust fund’. Five young people from Kiritimati island, the site of 33 British nuclear tests, attended the 2MSP. ‘It is imperative that the States parties provide hope to the numerous victims of these horrific inhumane weapons,’ Kiribati said. ‘It is time for us to take tangible action.’ [1]

TPNW Status

SIGNATURE
20 Sep 2017
DEPOSIT WITH UNSG
26 Sep 2019 (Ratification)
ENTRY INTO FORCE
22 Jan 2021
DECLARATION
Received 20 Feb 2021
TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2023
(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
UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) Voted yes (2023)
Participated in 2MSP (2023) Yes
2MSP delegation size (% women) 10 (70%)
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 Yes (Ratified 1985, Rarotonga)
Party to the NPT Yes (Acceded 1975)
Ratified the CTBT Yes (Ratified 2000)
Party to the BWC No
Party to the CWC Yes (Acceded 2000)
IAEA safeguards and fissile material
Safeguards agreement Yes (19 Dec 1990)
TPNW Art 3(2) deadline N/A
Small Quantities Protocol Yes (Original)
Additional Protocol No (Signed 2004)
Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants No
HEU stocks No
Plutonium stocks No

Latest developments

At the 2MSP, Kiribati pledged to ‘continue to appeal to all countries and peoples to do away with the old colonial and false doctrine that possession of a nuclear weapon is the only sure guarantee of lasting peace’. ‘Let’s work together for the universalisation of the TPNW, provide nuclear justice to all, and assure our future generations of a world free of nuclear weapons and one rich in peace, harmony and happiness,’ it concluded.2

At the First Meeting of States Parties in 2022, Kazakhstan and Kiribati were appointed as co-chairs of an informal working group on victim assistance, environmental remediation, international cooperation and assistance. They reported on their activities to the 2MSP, and will continue to serve in this capacity leading up to the third meeting in 2025.3

In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Kiribati and Kazakhstan initiated a new resolution titled ‘Addressing the legacy of nuclear weapons: providing victim assistance and environmental remediation to member States affected by the use or testing of nuclear weapons’. It was adopted with the support of 171 States.4

Kiribati was one of the co-sponsors for the 2023 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’.5 During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2023, the President of Kiribati, Taneti Maamau, said that the commitments by UN member States ‘to build a safe, peaceful and secure home for our peoples’ are ‘deeply threatened and undermined by the continued existence of nuclear weapons’. He called for compensation to be paid to the people of Kiritimati island ‘affected by environmental degradation’ from British nuclear tests.6

Recommendations

  • Kiribati should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.

  • Kiribati should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.

  • Kiribati should bring into force its Additional Protocol with the IAEA, and upgrade to a modified Small Quantities Protocol.

  • Kiribati should adhere to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).

Can you help us update this state profile? Send e-mail
Did you find this interesting?
Print state profile