Disarmament and security

Liechtenstein is a party to numerous agreements that form the legal basis of international efforts to prevent terrorism and, in particular, for disarmament and security. Liechtenstein does not have the security policy capabilities of larger states and, as a small state without its own armed forces, has a special interest in participating in international efforts to promote global security, combat weapons of mass destruction and strengthen regulation of the international arms trade.

Liechtenstein has ratified the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), which is considered one of the most significant multilateral non-proliferation and disarmament agreements in terms of security policy. With the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), Liechtenstein has concluded a control agreement as well as an additional protocol. The Convention on the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (CWC), which entered into force for Liechtenstein in 1999, is also of particular importance in terms of security policy, because it completely bans an entire class of weapons of mass destruction for the first time. Other important conventions in the field of disarmament that Liechtenstein has ratified are the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT).

Liechtenstein is committed to stopping the illegal trade in conventional weapons as well as enforcing a ban on weapons that cause excessive suffering or have indiscriminate effects. Central in this context is the Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons of 10 October 1980 (CCW). Liechtenstein has ratified the Framework Convention as well as all five protocols thereto.

In addition, Liechtenstein is committed to strengthening and further developing international humanitarian law. Alongside the Convention on the Prohibition of Anti-Personnel Mines (Ottawa Convention), the Convention on Cluster Munitions, which was adopted on May 30, 2008, represents one of the greatest successes in this area in recent years. The Convention entered into force for Liechtenstein on September 1, 2012. Liechtenstein was also one of the first countries to ban the financing of cluster munitions production.