Malta
Speaking at the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (1MSP) in Vienna in June 2022, Malta said that the ‘current bleak geopolitical situation has created an even greater sense of urgency’ in moving forward with ‘concrete actions to implement our obligations under the TPNW’.[1]
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compliant |
| Test | Compliant | |
| Possess or stockpile | 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 (2022) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 5 (40%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | No |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1975) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No (Rescinded 2021) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
At the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, Malta said: ‘We strongly believe in the benefits of this humanitarian-led initiative – which complements the NPT. … The TPNW strengthens the global norm against these weapons and fills a legal gap as the first outright prohibition on nuclear weapons.’2 In a closing statement to the NPT Review Conference, Malta and 64 other TPNW supporters urged ‘all states committed to attain and maintain a world without nuclear weapons to join the TPNW without delay’.3
Marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2022, Malta noted that it was among the first 50 states to ratify the TPNW – enabling its entry into force – and ‘continues to advocate for the universalisation of the TPNW and calls, on this occasion, on states that have not yet done so to accede to this important Treaty for nuclear disarmament.’4
Malta was one of the co-sponsors for the 2022 UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW, which 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
- Malta should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
- Malta should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.