Nepal
At the Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in March 2025, Nepal said: ‘The TPNW represents a landmark achievement in our collective efforts to eliminate nuclear weapons. It reaffirms the humanitarian imperative of disarmament and provides a robust legal and moral foundation to delegitimize these weapons of mass destruction.’1
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No (Signed 2017) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | No (Signed 1996) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1972) | |
| AP with the IAEA | No | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 2016) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 2MSP (2023) | Yes (observer) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes (observer) |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 3.67 (39%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Did not vote |
| 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 May 2025, Nepal said that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), ‘which prohibits nuclear weapons altogether, complements the NPT’. It noted, moreover, that it is committed to ratifying the TPNW, as well as the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), ‘at the earliest’. It is a signatory to both treaties.2
At a high-level event on 26 September 2025 marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, Nepal described the TPNW as ‘a meaningful step forward’. ‘Nepal rejects nuclear deterrence as a legitimate security doctrine. It perpetuates insecurity and undermines disarmament,’ it said.3
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, Nepal noted that the NPT, the CTBT and the TPNW are ‘complementary and mutually reinforcing treaties in our pursuit towards a nuclear-weapons-free world’. It also expressed support for ‘victim assistance and environmental remediation efforts to survivors of nuclear weapon production, testing, and use’.4
Nepal 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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Nepal should urgently ratify the TPNW.
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Nepal should conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol (AP) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and upgrade to a modified Small Quantities Protocol (SQP).
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Nepal should also ratify the CTBT.