State of Palestine
In the First Committee of the 2021 UN General Assembly, Palestine said: 'There is no justification for the exceptional status enjoyed by nuclear weapons. [...] There is no situation, no circumstances, in which their use can be justified. Their very existence is an insult to those who perished and those who survived. They are a threat to innocent people around the world, an existential threat for humankind and our planet that can only be addressed by their elimination.'
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 | |
|---|---|
| 2021 UNGA resolution on TPNW | |
| 2020 UNGA resolution on TPNW | |
| 2019 UNGA resolution on TPNW | N/A |
| 2018 UNGA resolution on TPNW | N/A |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations | Yes |
| Share of women in TPNW negotiations | 60% |
| Vote on adoption of treaty text | Voted yes |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards Agreement | Yes |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Modified) |
| Additional Protocol | No |
| Fissile material production facilities | No |
| Highly enriched uranium stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks (mil/civ) | No/No |
| Related treaties and regimes | |
|---|---|
| Party to the BWC | Yes |
| Party to the CWC | Yes |
| Party to the PTBT | No |
| Ratified the CTBT | No |
| Party to the NPT | Yes |
| Party to a NWFZ | No |
| Member of the CD | No |
Latest developments
The statement continued: 'The indefinite extension of the NPT was never intended and can never be interpreted as granting any legality or validity to the existence or indefinite possession of nuclear weapons. The NPT has three pillars, and we look forward to advancing on all three fronts at the upcoming 10th NPT Review Conference. If nuclear disarmament falters, the whole edifice will collapse. In this sense, the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons is the natural extension and the indispensable corollary of the NPT. The State of Palestine is proud to have been among the States that elaborated the treaty and among the first countries to ratify it, contributing to its early entry into force. We can not stand by and wait till the environment is ripe, till the circumstances are right, as there will always be a reason or a pretext not to move ahead. If it is about security then we are all entitled to security, if it is about deterrence then we are all entitled to deterrence. And if we can achieve those by any means necessary, then all weapons of mass destruction are fair game. But that is not the international law-based order we built. We have among the States that possess nuclear weapons friends and foes, but in all cases nuclear weapons are the enemy.'1
Recommendations
- Palestine should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
- Palestine should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.
- Palestine should bring into force its Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA by its deadline under the TPNW's Article 3(2), which is 22 July 2022. It should also conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol. Palestine should sign and ratify the CTBT.