Malta
Malta is an example to be followed by other States, as it has adhered to all of the seven key treaties in the legal architecture on disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.
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 2001) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2007) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2007) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1975) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) | |
| 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) | 3.67 (67%) |
| 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 | No |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | No (Rescinded 2021) |
Latest developments
At the Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in March 2025, Malta highlighted its efforts to promote the universalization and implementation of the TPNW, including during its term as an elected member of the UN Security Council. ‘The threat of the use of nuclear weapons has regrettably become a stark reality in many regions of our world,’ it said. It was appointed as the gender focal point for the Treaty, taking over from Mexico.1
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Review Conference in April 2025, Malta emphasized that ‘no State is immune from the humanitarian consequences if [nuclear] weapons are deployed even once’. It applauded the entry into force of the TPNW in 2021 and encouraged ‘all States to consider joining this important instrument, which complements and reinforces the NPT’.2
At a high-level event on 26 September 2025 marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, Malta highlighted ‘the importance of the [TPNW] as the first legal instrument which makes nuclear weapons explicitly illegal, in line with our goal of total elimination’. It pledged to ‘strive to operationalize the gender-related aspects of the Treaty’.3
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, Malta noted its ‘active role’ in advancing the TPNW, including as the gender focal point—a role that aligns with its ‘strong commitment to the women, peace, and security agenda’. It reiterated its call for all States to join the TPNW at the ‘earliest possible date, as the strongest legal rejection of nuclear weapons’, noting that with ‘each new signature and ratification, the global norm against nuclear weapons is strengthened’.4
Malta 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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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.