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 referred to a letter that the Minister of Foreign Affairs, Dominique Hasler, sent to ICAN one year earlier, in which she wrote: ‘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 finalisation of the domestic processes in Switzerland before a ratification can take place. However, we will be monitoring the process and I can assure you that Liechtenstein will 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 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 (2024) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes (observer) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes (observer) |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 3.5 (16.5%) |
| 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
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Liechtenstein said that nuclear threats ‘have reached an alarming new level’. ‘The current times demonstrate even more clearly than ever that, as long as nuclear weapons exist, they will never make the world a safer place,’ it said, describing this as ‘the animating philosophy’ behind the TPNW.2
Liechtenstein was one of the co-sponsors for the 2024 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
Liechtenstein observed the Second Meeting of States Parties (2MSP) to the TPNW in 2023 but did not make a statement.
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.