Malaysia
At the Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in March 2025, Malaysia was re-appointed as a co-chair, together with the Philippines, of the Treaty’s informal working group on the implementation of Article 4, ‘in particular work related to the future designation of a competent international authority or authorities’ that would oversee the elimination of nuclear weapons.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | Yes (Ratified 2020) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2008) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1996, Bangkok) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1972) | |
| AP with the IAEA | No (Signed 2005) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1991) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2000) | |
| 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 |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 9 (22%) |
| 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 | Yes |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | No (Rescinded 2018) |
Latest developments
At the Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in March 2025, Malaysia said: ‘In these challenging times, the TPNW exemplifies not only the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons, but also a clear and practical pathway toward its attainment.’1
In the Conference on Disarmament in February 2025, the Minister for Foreign Affairs of Malaysia, Mohamed Hasan, said: ‘As long as nuclear weapons exist, the spectre of nuclear annihilation looms heavily over humanity. The world’s fate must not be allowed to rest precariously on the judicious decision-making of States armed with these abhorrent weapons of mass destruction.’2
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting in April 2025, Malaysia described nuclear weapons as ‘morally repugnant and detrimental to security and sustainable development for all’. It said that the TPNW ‘represents an earnest effort by non-nuclear-weapon States to advance nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in a manner that is fully complementary to the NPT’.3
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, Malaysia welcomed ‘the steady advancement of the TPNW, which reflects the moral, security, and humanitarian imperative of a world without nuclear weapons’. It expressed its hope that the informal working group on the implementation of Article 4, which it co-chairs, would ‘contribute to the broader discourse on nuclear disarmament verification’.4
Malaysia 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’.5
Recommendations
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Malaysia should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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Malaysia should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.
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Malaysia should bring into force its Additional Protocol (AP) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).