Kuwait
Kuwait voted in favour of adopting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) at the UN diplomatic conference in 2017 and has consistently voted in favour of the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the TPNW, including in 2025. It 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.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1989) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2003) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2002) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2003) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1972) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Possess or stockpile | Compatible | |
| Test | 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 (2025) |
| Participated in 3MSP (2025) | No |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | No |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | No |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | Yes (Revised) |
Latest developments
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting in April 2025, Kuwait described the Treaty as ‘a fundamental instrument of the international system’ and ‘the key to establishing a world free of nuclear weapons’. It emphasized that Article VI of the NPT, which ‘imposes clear legal obligations on nuclear-weapon States’, ‘cannot be postponed or ignored’.1
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, Kuwait reiterated its ‘steadfast commitment to disarmament and non-proliferation, as we believe that peace and security cannot be achieved while there is the continuous spread of weapons, including nuclear weapons’.2
In 2022, Kuwait welcomed the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and the convening of its First Meeting of States Parties (1MSP). It stressed that the TPNW, rather than contradicting the NPT, is part of the process of fulfilling the NPT’s goals.3
Recommendations
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Kuwait should urgently adhere to the TPNW.