Tajikistan
Tajikistan participated in the negotiations on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2017, but did not cast a vote on the adoption of the Treaty and has consistently abstained on the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the Treaty, including in 2024. Tajikistan maintains policies and practices that are compliant 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
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1995) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 1998) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 2008, Semipalatinsk) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2004) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2004) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 2005) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1995) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Possess or stockpile | Compatible | |
| Test | 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 (2024) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | No |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Did not vote |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | Yes |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | No (Rescinded 2015) |
Latest developments
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Tajikistan said that it ‘shares the goal of a world free of nuclear weapons’, adding that ‘[s]trengthening multilateral mechanisms of control over weapons, disarmament and non-proliferation is a key to maintaining global security and stability’.1
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee session in July 2024, Tajikistan delivered a statement on behalf of the states parties to the Central Asian nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) treaty, noting that the states of the region ‘have committed themselves voluntarily and unequivocally to ban the production, acquisition and deployment of nuclear weapons and their components or other nuclear explosive devices on their territories’.2
Recommendations
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Tajikistan 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.