New Zealand
New Zealand is an example to be followed by other States, as it has adhered to all of the seven key treaties in the legal architecture on disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, in addition to being party to a nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) treaty.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | Yes (Ratified 2018) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1969) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 1999) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1985, Rarotonga) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1972) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1998) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1972) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1996) | |
| 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 |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 7 (44%) |
| 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 (Revised) |
Latest developments
At the Third Meeting of States Parties (3MSP) to the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in March 2025, New Zealand described the Treaty as ‘a vital agreement, one that offers an alternative to a world in which nuclear weapons are to hang perpetually as a Damoclean Sword over humanity—or worse’. It added that the Treaty strengthens the norm against the use of nuclear weapons, establishes a ‘clear standard’, and ‘marks a pathway toward nuclear abolition’.1
It was appointed as a co-chair of the TPNW’s informal working group on universalization, alongside Austria and Uruguay.
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee meeting in April 2025, New Zealand noted that concerns about the lack of progress in nuclear disarmament ‘have led many NPT States Parties to now also join the [TPNW]’. ‘It is ironic that this has been the subject of criticism as somehow undermining the NPT—an assertion we reject as without merit or evidence,’ it said. ‘[T]he TPNW is fully consistent with, and complementary to, the NPT. It provides a legal pathway toward the implementation of Article VI and achieving a world free of nuclear weapons.’2
At a high-level event on 26 September 2025 marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons, New Zealand called on all States to join the TPNW ‘as the clearest legal rejection of nuclear weapons’. ‘Our long-standing commitment to this cause is rooted in the legacy of nuclear testing in the Pacific,’ it said.3
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2025, New Zealand reiterated its call for all States to join the TPNW, describing it as ‘one practical step some of the international community has already taken to stake out a clear position against nuclear weapons’.4
New Zealand 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
In 2024, New Zealand played a key role, alongside Ireland, in the establishment of a UN panel tasked with ‘examining the physical effects and societal consequences of a nuclear war’.6
Recommendations
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New Zealand should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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New Zealand should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.