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Liechtenstein
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has signed the TPNW
Has not yet ratified the TPNW
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SIGNED
20 September 2017 |
RATIFIED
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IN FORCE
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Status
Liechtenstein has signed but not yet ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Signature
Aurelia Frick, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Liechtenstein, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017.
Following the signing ceremony, she said: “No doubt, it will take time to see the effects of the treaty on nuclear stockpiles. But setting a number of important legal benchmarks that will become binding norms is great progress.”
In 2021, Liechtenstein reiterated its “commitment to ratifying the TPNW” and said that it looked forward to contributing to the first meeting of states parties.
Responding to questions raised in the Landtag, or parliament, in 2020, the then-minister of foreign affairs, Katrin Eggenberger, said that the government was working to address matters related to a customs union with Switzerland before completing its ratification process.
Dominique Hasler, the current foreign minister, reiterated this in a letter to ICAN in 2021. “I can assure you that Liechtenstein will continue to strive for ratification in due time,” she wrote.
Aurelia Frick, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Liechtenstein, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: ICAN
National position
Liechtenstein has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and consistently voting in favour of an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the treaty “at the earliest possible date”.
In 2019, Liechtenstein said that the TPNW “draws a legal line against all attempts to justify the use of nuclear weapons” and is “a sole beacon of hope and a lesson for multilateralism in a world increasingly suffering from unsustainable big power politics”.
In 2022, it said that it “strongly supports” the TPNW, describing it as “the most significant development in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in recent years”. It also argued that the TPNW strengthens the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968.
In 2023, it said that “it is crystal clear” that nuclear weapons “will never make the world a safer place”, and this understanding is the animating force behind the TPNW.
Meetings of states parties
Liechtenstein observed the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022 and the second meeting of states parties in 2023.
TPNW negotiations
Liechtenstein participated in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and was among 122 states that voted in favour of its adoption.
In its opening statement to the negotiating conference, Liechtenstein said that the treaty-making process was “truly of historic nature”, and commented that the “broad and high-level representation here today shows strong political support for this process”.
Responding to the decision of certain states not to “join the negotiating table”, Liechtenstein noted that “throughout history those who are comfortable with the status quo rarely advocate for change”. It expressed confidence that “the movement towards the universal prohibition of nuclear weapons will persist and succeed”.
In its closing statement, Liechtenstein remarked: “The most devastating weapons of all are prohibited by a legally binding instrument open to all states. For Liechtenstein, it was an honour to participate in this joint undertaking.”
Liechtenstein delivers a statement during the TPNW negotiations in 2017. Photo: ICAN
Before the negotiations
In 2016, Liechtenstein co-sponsored the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Liechtenstein was also among 127 states that endorsed a “humanitarian pledge” in 2015–16 to cooperate “in efforts to stigmatise, prohibit, and eliminate nuclear weapons”. The pledge was instrumental in building momentum and support for convening the TPNW negotiations.
Further information
Nuclear-weapon-free state
Has signed the TPNW
Has not yet ratified the TPNW
[HIGHLIGHTS]
|
|
|
|
SIGNED
20 September 2017 |
RATIFIED
|
IN FORCE
|
Status
Liechtenstein has signed but not yet ratified the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW).
Signature
Aurelia Frick, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Liechtenstein, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York when it opened for signature on 20 September 2017.
Following the signing ceremony, she said: “No doubt, it will take time to see the effects of the treaty on nuclear stockpiles. But setting a number of important legal benchmarks that will become binding norms is great progress.”
In 2021, Liechtenstein reiterated its “commitment to ratifying the TPNW” and said that it looked forward to contributing to the first meeting of states parties.
Responding to questions raised in the Landtag, or parliament, in 2020, the then-minister of foreign affairs, Katrin Eggenberger, said that the government was working to address matters related to a customs union with Switzerland before completing its ratification process.
Dominique Hasler, the current foreign minister, reiterated this in a letter to ICAN in 2021. “I can assure you that Liechtenstein will continue to strive for ratification in due time,” she wrote.
Aurelia Frick, the then-minister of foreign affairs of Liechtenstein, signs the TPNW in 2017. Photo: ICAN
National position
Liechtenstein has promoted universal adherence to the TPNW, including by co-sponsoring and consistently voting in favour of an annual UN General Assembly resolution since 2018 that calls upon all states to sign, ratify, or accede to the treaty “at the earliest possible date”.
In 2019, Liechtenstein said that the TPNW “draws a legal line against all attempts to justify the use of nuclear weapons” and is “a sole beacon of hope and a lesson for multilateralism in a world increasingly suffering from unsustainable big power politics”.
In 2022, it said that it “strongly supports” the TPNW, describing it as “the most significant development in nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in recent years”. It also argued that the TPNW strengthens the Non-Proliferation Treaty of 1968.
In 2023, it said that “it is crystal clear” that nuclear weapons “will never make the world a safer place”, and this understanding is the animating force behind the TPNW.
Meetings of states parties
Liechtenstein observed the first meeting of states parties to the TPNW in 2022 and the second meeting of states parties in 2023.
TPNW negotiations
Liechtenstein participated in the negotiation of the TPNW at the United Nations in New York in 2017 and was among 122 states that voted in favour of its adoption.
In its opening statement to the negotiating conference, Liechtenstein said that the treaty-making process was “truly of historic nature”, and commented that the “broad and high-level representation here today shows strong political support for this process”.
Responding to the decision of certain states not to “join the negotiating table”, Liechtenstein noted that “throughout history those who are comfortable with the status quo rarely advocate for change”. It expressed confidence that “the movement towards the universal prohibition of nuclear weapons will persist and succeed”.
In its closing statement, Liechtenstein remarked: “The most devastating weapons of all are prohibited by a legally binding instrument open to all states. For Liechtenstein, it was an honour to participate in this joint undertaking.”
Liechtenstein delivers a statement during the TPNW negotiations in 2017. Photo: ICAN
Before the negotiations
In 2016, Liechtenstein co-sponsored the UN General Assembly resolution that established the formal mandate for states to commence negotiations on “a legally binding instrument to prohibit nuclear weapons, leading towards their total elimination”.
Liechtenstein was also among 127 states that endorsed a “humanitarian pledge” in 2015–16 to cooperate “in efforts to stigmatise, prohibit, and eliminate nuclear weapons”. The pledge was instrumental in building momentum and support for convening the TPNW negotiations.
Further information
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