Singapore
Singapore has consistenly abstained on the vote on the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the TPNW, including in 2023. Singapore observed the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023 but did not make a statement. It maintains policies and practices that are compatible with all of the prohibitions in Article 1 of the TPNW and can therefore sign and ratify or accede to the Treaty without the need for a change in conduct.
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Test | Compatible | |
| Possess or stockpile | Compatible | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compatible |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compatible |
| (d) | Use | Compatible |
| Threaten to use | Compatible | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compatible |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compatible |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compatible |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Abstained (2023) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 2 (100%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Abstained |
| 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 1997, Bangkok) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1976) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1975) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (18 Oct 1977) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Modified) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Singapore expressed strong support for ‘concrete and meaningful progress in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation, which is essential to strengthening international peace and security’. It added: ‘We believe that there are multiple pathways to a world free of nuclear weapons. A comprehensive and practical approach to nuclear disarmament should involve all relevant parties in a collective global effort.’ It noted the concerns that it had raised during the negotiation of the TPNW in 2017 and reiterated ‘that the TPNW should not in any way affect the rights and obligations of States parties under other treaties and agreements’, including the NPT. ‘We urge the international community to find a realistic and complementary role for the TPNW within the existing global disarmament architecture, of which the NPT remains the cornerstone,’ it said.1
Recommendations
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Singapore should comply with its existing obligation under Article VI of the NPT and pursue negotiations in good faith on nuclear disarmament.
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Singapore should urgently adhere to the TPNW. Until it is in a position to do so, it should welcome the TPNW as a valuable component in the global disarmament and non-proliferation architecture, work with the Treaty's states parties on practical steps towards disarmament, and attend the meetings of states parties as an observer.