Malta
In a statement marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2023, Malta said that the TPNW ‘strengthens the global norm against nuclear weapons and fills a legal gap as their first outright prohibition’. It urged all States ‘who have not done so to sign and ratify it’ and said that progress towards universalisation ‘could bring the much-needed momentum to revive serious disarmament talks’.[1]
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 (2023) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 1 (100%) |
| 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 (1 Jul 2007) |
| 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| Small Quantities Protocol | No (Rescinded 2021) |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
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Malta said that the TPNW is ‘fully compatible with and complementary to’ the Non-Proliferation Treaty and strengthens the safeguards system administered by the International Atomic Energy Agency. ‘It also recognises the gendered impact of nuclear weapons, and mandates age- and gender-sensitive victim assistance,’ Malta noted.2
Malta participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023, where it welcomed the ‘valuable progress in the implementation of the Treaty’. It said: ‘Nuclear deterrence can never lead to security assurance. How can one feel secure when nuclear weapons pose a threat of indiscriminate mass destruction and are incompatible with respect for the right to life?’3
Malta was one of the co-sponsors for the 2023 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’.4
Recommendations
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Malta should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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Malta should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.