Nauru
During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2022, Nauru noted that it is a state party to the TPNW and encouraged ‘those member states who have yet to ratify the TPNW to do so, so we are united in the global goal for a peaceful and just world free of nuclear weapons’.[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) | No |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Did not vote |
| 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 | Yes (Ratified 1986, Rarotonga) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1982) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 2013) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2001) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Original) |
| Additional Protocol | No |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
Nauru 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.'2
At the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, the Pacific Small Island Developing States, of which Nauru is a member, delivered a joint statement which said: 'We are gravely concerned about the serious shortfalls in the implementation of Article VI of the NPT although the nuclear weapon states have spent billions of dollars on modernizing and maintaining their nuclear arsenals. This amount could have been better spent on helping victims of past use and testing of nuclear weapons, fighting the global pandemic of Covid-19 and on the sustainable development goals.' The statement also said that ‘Despite the unfortunate recent behavior, following the invasion of Ukraine, and hinting at their possible use, there is hope’, and noted the entry into force of the TPNW and the convening of the Treaty's First Meeting of States Parties (1MSP).3
Recommendations
- Nauru should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
- Nauru should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.
- Nauru should conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol with the IAEA, and upgrade to a Modified Small Quantities Protocol.