Nauru
Nauru participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023, where it reaffirmed its ‘unwavering dedication to the collective pursuit of a world free of nuclear weapons’. It noted the long history of support for nuclear disarmament in the Pacific, ‘borne of our region’s direct experience of nuclear testing by colonial powers, the catastrophic humanitarian and environmental consequences of which still reverberate today, serving as a reminder of the urgency of our collective task’.[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 |
| 2MSP delegation size (% women) | 7 (71%) |
| 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 (13 Apr 1984) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Modified) |
| Additional Protocol | No (Signed 2024) |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
At the 2MSP, Nauru welcomed the important work being undertaken to implement the TPNW’s provisions on victim assistance and environmental remediation ‘for people and places harmed by nuclear weapons use and testing’. ‘These efforts are integral to the TPNW’s humanitarian response to nuclear weapons,’ it said. It warned that nuclear weapons ‘continue to pose threats to global peace and security, our environment, our existence. … We recognise and support the important role that the TPNW plays in achieving its overarching goal, which is to work towards the total elimination of nuclear weapons.’ It also urged all states to ratify the Treaty ‘so we are united in the global vision for a peaceful and just world, free of nuclear weapons’.2
Nauru 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’.3
In 2023, Nauru upgraded its original Small Quantities Protocol (SQP) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to a modified SQP.
Recommendations
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Nauru should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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Nauru should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.
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Nauru should bring into force its Additional Protocol with the IAEA.