Maldives
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, the Maldives reaffirmed its commitment to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) and said that the continued existence of nuclear weapons ‘signifies a collective failure in ensuring global security’. ‘Since ratifying the TPNW in 2019, we have continuously urged other nations to do the same,’ it said. ‘The total elimination of nuclear weapons is not only possible but necessary.’1 Its decision to ratify the TPNW stemmed from its ‘firm belief in the importance of global efforts to eliminate this grave threat to global peace’, it said.2
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | Yes (Ratified 2019) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2000) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1977) | |
| AP with the IAEA | No | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 1993) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1994) | |
| 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 |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | No |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 7 (57.%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Did not vote* |
| 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 | Yes (Modified) |
Latest developments
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, the Maldives said that the goal of a nuclear-weapon-free world ‘remains extremely pertinent’ given ‘today’s global security environment’. It warned that any use of nuclear weapons ‘is likely to have massive and lasting global repercussions on populations, economies and the environment’.3
The Maldives 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’.4
Recommendations
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The Maldives should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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The Maldives should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.
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The Maldives should conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol (AP) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
* After the vote on the TPNW on 7 July 2017, the Maldives informed the Secretariat that it had intended to vote in favour (A/72/206, note 2)