Nepal
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, Nepal said that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) ‘has the potential to contribute to a nuclear-weapon-free world’ and criticised the doctrine of nuclear deterrence as ‘neither an acceptable nor a legitimate approach’.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 (2024) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes (observer) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes (observer) |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 3.5 (46%) |
| 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
Nepalese parliamentarians met in August 2024 to discuss Nepal’s ratification of the TPNW. However, the formal parliamentary process to approve the Treaty has not yet commenced.2
During the high-level segment of the UN General Assembly in September 2024, the Prime Minister of Nepal, K P Sharma Oli, warned that the ‘spectre of nuclear conflict looms larger than ever before’ and said that ‘[d]isarmament and non-proliferation issues must be prioritised’.3
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Nepal said that it remains committed to completing its ratification process for the TPNW ‘at the earliest possible’.4 It considers the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and the TPNW ‘as complementary and mutually reinforcing treaties in our pursuit of a world free of nuclear weapons’. ‘Notions of responsible possession [of nuclear weapons] and nuclear deterrence are rooted in the logic of mutual destruction. ... They have perpetuated a dangerous nuclear status quo,' it said.5
Nepal was one of the co-sponsors for the 2024 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’.6
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.