Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan participated in the TPNW negotiations in 2017, but did not cast a vote on the adoption of the Treaty. The government has consistently abstained on the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the Treaty, including in 2023. Kyrgyzstan 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
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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) | Abstained (2023) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Did not vote |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Did not vote |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 2007, Semipalatinsk) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1994) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2003) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 2004) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2003) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (3 Feb 2004) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Original) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
In August 2023, Kyrgyzstan attended a meeting in Kazakhstan hosted by the foreign ministry to promote adherence to the TPNW and consideration of the humanitarian consequences of nuclear weapons. Kazakhstan emphasised the compatibility of the TPNW with the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone (NWFZ) Treaty, to which Kyrgyzstan is a state party.1
On the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2023, Kyrgyzstan described itself as ‘an active supporter of the idea of a nuclear-weapon-free world’. It encouraged all States, as well as members of civil society and academia, to participate in the annual observance of the International Day for Disarmament and Non-Proliferation Awareness on 5 March, which it initiated.2
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Kyrgyzstan said that it stood for ‘strengthening and developing the existing international regime for the non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction’ and pledged to continue raising awareness of disarmament and non-proliferation ‘as one of the tools for ensuring peace and prosperity’.3
Recommendations
-
Kyrgyzstan should comply with its existing obligation under Article VI of the NPT and pursue negotiations in good faith on nuclear disarmament.
-
Kyrgyzstan should urgently adhere to the TPNW. Until it is in a position to do so, it should welcome the TPNW as a valuable component in the global disarmament and non-proliferation architecture, work with the Treaty's states parties on practical steps towards disarmament, and attend the meetings of states parties as an observer.
-
Kyrgyzstan should upgrade to a modified Small Quantities Protocol with the IAEA.