Liberia
Liberia voted in favour of adopting the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) at the UN Diplomatic Conference in 2017. 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 1970) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2009) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No (Signed 1996, Pelindaba) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2018) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2018) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 2016) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2006) | |
| 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) | Voted yes (2022) |
| 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) | Did not vote |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | No |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | Yes (Modified) |
Latest developments
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Liberia said that, despite some gains made, ‘there is a lot more to be done in the field of disarmament, international security and non-proliferation of weapons’.1
In previous years, Liberia voted yes on the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the TPNW, but it did not participate in the votes in 2023 and 2024. The resolution welcomes the Treaty’s entry into force and calls upon ‘all States that have not yet done so to sign, ratify, accept, approve or accede to the Treaty at the earliest possible date’.2
As part of the Universal Periodic Review conducted by the UN Human Rights Council, Liberia accepted a recommendation in 2021 to sign and ratify the TPNW.3
Recommendations
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Liberia should urgently adhere to the TPNW.
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Liberia should ratify the Pelindaba nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) treaty, which it signed in 1996.