Use the 2027 Review Conference for the Amended CPPNM to advance ratification and strengthen implementation

All countries should advance the universal ratification of the Amended CPPNM and strengthen its implementation with the following actions:

• Attend the 2027 Review Conference, regardless of whether they are a party to the agreement
• Use the 2027 Review Conference to address implementation of the treaty’s legal framework and to exchange strategies for improving implementation and identifying gaps
• Seek technical assistance from the International Atomic Energy Agency or partner countries to establish the implementation infrastructure the treaty requires for states-parties without a designated competent authority
• Send delegations to the 2027 Review Conference that comprise senior-level officials representing the full breadth of organizations with responsibilities for nuclear security, including leadership from regulators and law enforcement bodies
• Deliver robust national statements at the 2027 Review Conference with clear new nuclear security commitments
• Encourage nonparties to ratify and implement the treaty, leveraging existing relationships with countries in Sub-Saharan Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America and the Caribbean where ratification gaps are largest
• Commit to reviewing the treaty again in 2032.

What the Data Show

Forty-seven countries have not ratified the Amended Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear
Material, and implementation remains uneven among those that have.

Data Details

In 1982, the original Convention on the Physical Protection of Nuclear Material (CPPNM) became the only legally binding international agreement that requires the physical protection of nuclear materials during international transport, criminalizes offenses such as theft or robbery, and requires states to cooperate in recovering stolen material. In 2005, the CPPNM was amended and considerably strengthened. The Amended CPPNM expanded coverage to nuclear material in domestic use and storage, broadened criminalization provisions to include sabotage of nuclear facilities, established the basis for increased international cooperation, and required states to establish and maintain legislative and regulatory frameworks for physical protection.

The Amended CPPNM became a cornerstone of the international nuclear security architecture when it entered into force in 2016 and required a review conference five years later. After a productive review conference in 2022, states-parties requested a second review conference that will occur in 2027. Membership has grown to 137 states-parties, but 47 countries in the NTI Index have yet to join—including Egypt, Iran, and North Korea, all of which have nuclear facilities. The biggest remaining ratification gaps are concentrated in Sub-Saharan Africa (18 countries), Asia-Pacific (14 countries), and Latin America and the Caribbean (10 countries).

Among the countries that have ratified the Amended CPPNM, implementation remains uneven. Sixteen countries in the NTI Index that have ratified the treaty have not met its requirement to designate a competent authority to be responsible for implementing it and serving as the point of contact for international cooperation—a statistic that has not improved since 2023. Without the institutional infrastructure to carry out the agreement’s obligations, ratification is functionally useless.

Improving implementation and closing the ratification gap is a strategic necessity for strengthening the global nuclear architecture, especially as additional countries develop nuclear energy capabilities. The 2027 Amended CPPNM Review Conference offers more than an opportunity to cultivate additional treaty members—it offers a proven pathway. Of the 17 countries that attended the 2022 Review Conference as observers, 7 have since ratified the treaty (Belarus, Laos, Mongolia, Mozambique, Oman, South Africa, and Zimbabwe). States-parties should begin efforts now to ensure that the 2027 Review Conference continues this momentum.