Morocco
Morocco attended as an observer the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (1MSP) in Vienna in June 2022. In a statement to the meeting, Morocco said: ‘This is a moment to deepen our reflection, give impetus to the implementation of the Treaty, and engage in a constructive and frank dialogue with a view to building consensus to free the world from nuclear weapons.’[1]
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Test | Compatible | |
| Possess or stockpile | Compatible | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compatible |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compatible |
| (d) | Use | Compatible |
| Threaten to use | Compatible | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compatible |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compatible |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compatible |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted yes (2022) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Observer |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 3 (33%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Abstained |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 2022, Pelindaba) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2000) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 2002) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1995) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No (Rescinded 2007) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
Morocco maintains policies and practices that are compatible with all of the prohibitions in Article 1 of the TPNW, and can therefore sign and ratify or accede to the Treaty without the need for a change in conduct.
At the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, Morocco noted the ‘historic entry into force’ of the TPNW as a sign of progress towards a world without nuclear weapons, but underscored that this and other positive developments ‘do not hide the lack of tangible progress’ being made by nuclear-armed states towards disarmament.2
Marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2022, Morocco said that ‘we should all undertake further efforts to ensure the prohibition of [nuclear] arms’. It highlighted its participation in the 1MSP, which it said ‘breathe[d] new life into dialogue’.3
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2022, Morocco said that, given ‘the irreversible consequences of nuclear weapons on the environment and human lives’, all states must ‘move resolutely towards the complete prohibition of these weapons’.4
Recommendations
- Morocco should urgently adhere to the TPNW.