Action 9 - NPT Monitor

China

What has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle 2022–2026)?

China has consistently supported the establishment of nuclear-weapon-free zones on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at among States of the region concerned, in line with the 1999 UN Disarmament Commission guidelines. It has signed and ratified all protocols to nuclear-weapon-free-zone treaties that are open for signature, including Additional Protocol II to the Treaty of Tlatelolco, Protocols II and III to the Treaty of Rarotonga, Protocols I and II to the Treaty of Pelindaba, and the Protocol to the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty.

China has also supported Mongolia’s nuclear-weapon-free status, as well as the establishment of a Middle East zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.

What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle 2022–2026?

China has continued to support nuclear-weapon-free zones, including the Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon Free Zone, and has stated its readiness to take the lead in signing the relevant protocol, which was confirmed by the Malaysian government.

China has continued to support efforts toward a Middle East WMD-free zone and has criticized the absence of universal adherence by States in the region to the NPT.

Sources

Implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons–Report submitted by the People’s Republic of China, NPT/CONF.2015/32, 17 April 2015

Implementation of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons in the People’s Republic of China, NPT/CONF.2020/41, 28 January 2022

White Paper: China’s Arms Control, Disarmament, and Nonproliferation in the New Era, State Council Information Office, November 27, 2025

Statement on Middle East and Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones by Delegation of China at the Third Session of the Preparatory Committee for the 2026 NPT Review Conference, May 5, 2025

China firmly supports establishment of Southeast Asia Nuclear Weapon-Free Zone: Defense Spokesperson, July 14, 2025

Malaysia says China ready to sign SEA nuclear weapons-free treaty, Reuters, July 10, 2025

France

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What has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle 2022–2026)?

France is a party to four protocols of the treaties establishing NWFZs. In addition to the Antarctic Treaty of 1959 (which provides for complete demilitarisation), France is a party to the protocols of the Treaty of Tlatelolco (ratified in 1974 and 1992), the Treaty of Rarotonga (ratified in 1996), the Treaty of Pelindaba (ratified in 1996) and the Treaty of Semipalatinsk (joined in 2014) establishing nuclear-weapon-free zones in Latin America and the Caribbean, the Pacific, Africa and Central Asia, respectively. France also recognised Mongolia’s status as a nuclear-weapon-free zone in 2012.

France expressed its support for the project of a WMD free zone in the Middle East. France participated, as an observer state, in the first three Conferences (2019, 2021, and 2022) on the establishment of a zone free of weapons of mass destruction and their means of delivery in the Middle East, which have been held in New York since 2019 pursuant to United Nations General Assembly Resolution 73/546.

What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle 2022–2026?

France supported UNGA Resolution A/RES/78/39, on the Treaty on a nuclear free zone in Southeast Asia (Bangkok Treaty) and indicates that it continues to discuss with ASEAN member states to find an acceptable solution enabling the signature of the protocol of the Bangkok Treaty.

Regarding the project of a WMD free-zone in the Middle East, France took part to the 4th (2023) and 5th (2024) Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction.

France also supports and contributes to the European Union’s efforts to achieve this objective, notably through EU Council Decision of 26 June 2023, which allocated a budget of nearly €2.1 million to promote trust and dialogue. France also supports the work of the United Nations Institute for Disarmament Research (UNIDIR), which aims at promoting inclusive dialogue between experts and policy makers on this issue.

Sources

National Report submitted by France. Report submitted by France under actions 5, 20 and 21 of the Final Document of the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (2022–2026). NPT/CONF.2026/PC.III/2. 7 March 2025, https://docs.un.org/en/NPT/CONF.2026/PC.III/2

Russia

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What has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle 2022–2026)?

Russia has signed and ratified relevant protocols to the following NWFZ Treaties:

- Treaty of Tlatelolco in 1979
- Treaty of Rarotonga in 1988
- African Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone Treaty in 2011
- Treaty on a Nuclear Weapon Free Zone in Central Asia in 2014

Russia has expressed support for the establishment of the Weapons of Mass Destruction-Free Zone (WMDFZ) in the Middle East as one of the designated co-convenors of the conference on the Zone.

Since 2019 Russia participated as an observer in the UN Conferences on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction.

What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle 2022–2026?

Russia continued to express support for the efforts to establish nuclear-weapon-free zones and noted that, in its view, the establishment of such zones helps to strengthen regional and international stability and security and to build mutual trust.

Russia confirmed that it is ready to accede to the Protocol to the Bangkok Treaty, in the form and manner stated in 2012, when all domestic procedures for such a step were completed.

Sources

National report of the Russian Federation, 2026 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (New York), 2 March 2026.

https://docs.un.org/en/NPT/CONF.2026/14

United Kingdom

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What has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle 2022–2026)?

The UK has signed and ratified protocols to four Nuclear-Weapon-Free-Zones treaties covering South America and the Caribbean, Central Asia, Africa, and the South Pacific, giving legally binding negative security assurances to more than 100 countries.

It says it stands ready to sign and ratify the revised Protocol of the Treaty of Bangkok. In 2011, the UK stated that “China, France, Russia, the UK and US (the P5) and the ten member states of ASEAN, reached agreement on all the outstanding issues related to P5 signature of the Protocol to the Southeast Asian Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty”, but the UK has still not signed the protocol.

As one of the co-sponsors of the 1995 NPT Resolution on the Middle East, the UK says it recognises its responsibilities and remains fully committed to a zone free of all weapons of mass destruction and their delivery systems in the Middle East, established on the basis of arrangements freely arrived at among the states of the region concerned. Since 2019 the UK has attended all UN facilitated Middle East Weapons of Mass Destruction Free Zone Conferences as an observer.

The UK also states that it is providing expertise to the Qualified Group of Experts to study the questions of Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zones in all its aspects pursuant to UN General Assembly resolution 79/241.

What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle 2022–2026?

The UK says it is actively engaging the Qualified Group of Experts on the question of nuclear weapon free zones, with a UK expert contributing to discussions. The UK has participated as an invited observer (as an NPT depositary state) in the Conference on the Establishment of a Middle East Zone Free of Nuclear Weapons and Other Weapons of Mass Destruction at the 3rd session (2022), 4th session (2023), 5th session (2024), and 6th session (2025).

Sources

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (2026). National report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland pursuant to actions 5, 20 and 21 of the action plan of the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons for the eleventh Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty. <https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69df600a53469bbcdf408e8b/UK-National-Report-11th-Treaty-on-the-Non-Proliferation-of-Nuclear-Weapons-NPT-Review-Conference.pdf>

Foreign and Commonwealth Office (2011). Foreign Secretary statement on Nuclear Weapon Free Zone Treaty. 29 November. <https://www.gov.uk/government/news/foreign-secretary-statement-on-nuclear-weapon-free-zone-treaty#:~:text=Foreign%20Secretary%20William%20Hague%20said,number%20of%20nuclear%20weapons%20worldwide.%E2%80%9D>

Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (2026). National report of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland pursuant to actions 5, 20 and 21 of the action plan of the 2010 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons for the eleventh Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty. <https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/media/69df600a53469bbcdf408e8b/UK-National-Report-11th-Treaty-on-the-Non-Proliferation-of-Nuclear-Weapons-NPT-Review-Conference.pdf>

Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (2025). Middle East WMD Free Zone Conference – November. UK National Statement. <https://app.unidir.org/sites/default/files/2026-03/Statement%20by%20United%20Kingdom%20of%20Great%20Britain%20and%20Northern%20Ireland.pdf>

United States

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What has the NWS done so far (prior to the current Review Cycle 2022–2026)?

Of the five major Nuclear Weapons Free Zones (NWFZ), the United States has only ratified the protocols of one: the Treaty of Tlatelolco, which banned nuclear weapons in Latin America and the Caribbean. The United States has signed, but not ratified, the protocols of the Rarotonga Treaty, the Pelindaba Treaty, and the Semipalatinsk Treaty. The Obama administration submitted the protocols for all three treaties to the Senate in 2011 and 2015; however, they all remain stalled with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The United States, like the other Nuclear Weapon States, has not signed the Bangkok Treaty.

Negotiations over a Middle East WMD-Free Zone have been stalled, in part due to the United States’ insistence upon regional consensus and resistance of language that it believes would single out Israel. This issue was one of the key reasons why the 2015 Review Conference did not achieve consensus on an outcome document.

What is the NWS doing on this action in the current Review Cycle 2022–2026?

During the current Review Cycle, the United States continued to advocate publicly for regional nuclear-weapons-free zones (NWFZ), noting in a statement that they “provide the most expeditious and practical way to extend legally binding negative security assurances.” Despite its public advocacy, the United States Senate has not achieved success in ratifying any of the three NWFZ protocols under consideration during the current Review Cycle.

Sources

U.S. Department of State (Obama Administration). “Nuclear Weapon Free Zones.” Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation. https://2009-2017.state.gov/t/isn/anwfz/index.htm

United Nations. “2015 Review Conference of the Parties to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.” United Nations Office for Disarmament Affairs, 27 April–22 May 2015. https://www.un.org/en/conf/npt/2015/.

Turner, Bruce. “Statement by the United States to the NPT Preparatory Committee: Cluster One Specific Issue Statement.” U.S. Department of State, July 25, 2024. https://2021-2025.state.gov/statement-by-the-united-states-to-the-npt-preparatory-committee-cluster-one-specific-issue-statement/.