Liechtenstein
In 2022, in response to an inquiry from the Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor about the status of Liechtenstein’s ratification process for the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), the foreign ministry noted: ‘Liechtenstein forms a Customs Union with Switzerland and certain Swiss laws apply to Liechtenstein. Those laws include areas falling under the purview of the TPNW. Due to this circumstance we have to await the finalization of the domestic processes in Switzerland before a ratification can take place.’ It pledged to ‘continue to strive for ratification in due time’.1
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No (Signed 2017) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1978) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2004) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1979) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2015) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 1991) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1999) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2025 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compliant |
| Possess or stockpile | Compliant | |
| Test | Compliant | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compliant |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compliant |
| (d) | Use | Compliant |
| Threaten to use | Compliant | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compliant |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compliant |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compliant |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted yes (2025) |
| Participated in 3MSP (2025) | Yes (observer) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes (observer) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes (observer) |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 3.67 (28.%) |
| 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 | No |
Latest developments
Liechtenstein attended the Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in March 2025 as an observer. It did not make a statement.
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, Liechtenstein expressed deep concern that ‘the global race for nuclear weapons is at a record high’, with all nuclear powers ‘upgrading their arsenals, contrary to relevant international treaties’. It noted an ‘implementation gap’ in the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which ‘constitutes a serious risk to the Treaty’s normative strength and to a world free of nuclear weapons’.2
It also noted that, as a signatory to the TPNW, it is legally bound to refrain from acts that would defeat the object and purpose of the Treaty, and as such it supports all efforts to advance nuclear disarmament.
Liechtenstein co-sponsored the 2025 UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW, which welcomed the Treaty’s entry into force and called upon ‘all States that have not yet done so to sign, ratify, accept, approve, or accede to the Treaty at the earliest possible date’.3
Recommendations
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Liechtenstein should urgently ratify the TPNW.
1) Email to the Nuclear Weapons Ban Monitor from N. Schmid, Deputy Secretary General, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Education and Sport, Principality of Liechtenstein, 13 December 2022.