Liberia
Liberia 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. As part of the Universal Periodic Review conducted by the Human Rights Council, Liberia accepted a recommendation in 2021 to sign and ratify the TPNW.[1]
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) | Voted yes (2022) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| 2MSP 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) | Did not vote |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | No (Signed 1996, Pelindaba) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2009) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 2016) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2006) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (10 Dec 2018) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Modified) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2023, the President of Liberia, George Weah, said that ‘threats of nuclear escalation’ are one of a number of challenges that ‘continue to serve as obstacles to our quest for a safe and peaceful world’.2
Recommendations
-
Liberia should urgently adhere to the TPNW.
-
Liberia should ratify the Pelindaba NWFZ Treaty, which it signed in 1996.