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States parties

Vanuatu

In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Vanuatu said that it is committed to achieving a world free of nuclear weapons. ‘This is why Vanuatu joined the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW),’ it added. ‘We urge all UN member States to join the TPNW. Joining the Treaty will send a clear signal to the world that we want to live in a world free of nuclear weapons.’[1]

TPNW Status

SIGNATURE
20 Sep 2017
DEPOSIT WITH UNSG
26 Sep 2018 (Ratification)
ENTRY INTO FORCE
22 Jan 2021
DECLARATION
Received 17 Feb 2021
TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2023
(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
UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) Voted yes (2023)
Participated in 2MSP (2023) Yes
2MSP delegation size (% women) 3 (33%)
Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) Voted yes
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 1995, Rarotonga)
Party to the NPT Yes (Acceded 1995)
Ratified the CTBT Yes (Ratified 2005)
Party to the BWC Yes (Acceded 2016)
Party to the CWC Yes (Acceded 2005)
IAEA safeguards and fissile material
Safeguards agreement Yes (21 May 2013)
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

Vanuatu participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023 but did not make a statement. It was one of the co-sponsors for the 2023 UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW, which 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’.2 Vanuatu also promoted adherence to the TPNW as part of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review in 2023.

Recommendations

  • Vanuatu should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.

  • Vanuatu should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.

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