Myanmar
At the Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in March 2025, Myanmar said that it ‘attaches great importance to universalization of the TPNW’, noting that its plan to ratify the Treaty ‘was disrupted by the attempted illegal military coup in 2021’. It also underscored that ‘[t]he prohibition of nuclear weapons is in line with international humanitarian law and a critical step towards their elimination’.1
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No (Signed 2018) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1992) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2016) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1996, Bangkok) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1995) | |
| AP with the IAEA | No (Signed 2013) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 2014) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2015) | |
| 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 (observer) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes (observer) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | No |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 3 (17%) |
| 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 | Yes (Original) |
Latest developments
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting in April 2025, Myanmar said that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) ‘complements the NPT and represents the role of “effective measure” under Article VI of the [NPT]’.2
At a high-level event on 26 September 2025 marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, Myanmar reiterated that the TPNW ‘strengthens the nuclear disarmament regime’. It also noted that it had signed the TPNW under its ‘elected civilian government’, but ‘our subsequent TPNW ratification plan was disrupted by the attempted military coup’.3
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, Myanmar warned: ‘More than 12,000 nuclear weapons remain an existential threat to humanity.’ It added that the TPNW ‘contributes to advancing our shared goal of the total elimination of nuclear weapons’.4
Myanmar 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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Myanmar should urgently ratify the TPNW.
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Myanmar should bring into force its Additional Protocol (AP) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and upgrade to a modified Small Quantities Protocol (SQP).