Kyrgyzstan
Kyrgyzstan participated in the negotiations on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2017, but did not cast a vote on the adoption of the Treaty. It has consistently abstained on the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the Treaty, including in 2024. 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
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1994) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2003) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 2007, Semipalatinsk) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2004) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2011) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 2004) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2003) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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) | Abstained (2024) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | No |
| Average MSP 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 |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | No |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | Yes (Original) |
Latest developments
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan, Jeenbek Kulubayev, emphasised the importance of efforts to raise public awareness about nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, and said that ‘the elimination of nuclear weapons must remain a priority on the international agenda’.1
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Kyrgyzstan reiterated its support for ‘international efforts towards achieving a world free of nuclear weapons’ and described the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as ‘the most fundamental and effective international instrument’ in the field of nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation.2
At the NPT Preparatory Committee session in July 2024, the five states parties to the Central Asian nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) treaty – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan – noted that they ‘have committed themselves voluntarily and unequivocally to ban the production, acquisition and deployment of nuclear weapons and their components or other nuclear explosive devices on their territories’.3
Recommendations
-
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 (SQP) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).