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
| 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 |
| 1MSP 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 second Meeting of States Parties, 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).