Maldives
At a high-level event on 26 September 2025 marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, the Maldives noted that it is a State Party to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). ‘Nuclear weapons are not compatible with peace, humanity, dignity, or collective security,’ it said. ‘The Maldives has chosen a different path.’1
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 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) | No |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 7 (43%) |
| 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 (Revised) |
Latest developments
The Maldives participated in the Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in March 2025 but did not make a statement.
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, the Maldives called on nuclear-armed States to ‘present clear, transparent, and time-bound plans to eliminate nuclear stockpiles’. ‘Every delay carries a price, one that could cost innocent lives and the very foundations of peace,’ it warned. ‘The Maldives fulfils its obligations by ratifying key treaties, and enacting national laws.’2
The Maldives 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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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)