Libya and weapons of mass destruction

Libya pursued programs to develop or acquire weapons of mass destruction from when Colonel Muammar Gaddafi of Libyan Army seized control of Libya in 1969 until he announced on 19 December 2003 that Libya would voluntarily terminate its programs of nuclear, chemical, ballistic missiles, and other efforts that could lead to internationally proscribed weapons of mass destruction.

In 1968, Libya under King Idris signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), ratified it under Gaddafi in 1975, and concluded a safeguards agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) in 1980. Despite being the signatory state of NPT, Libya under Gaddafi pursued nuclear weapons from different venues including employing of foreign experts and using the proliferation network to locally advance its efforts. After the terrorist attacks in the United States in 2001, followed by the Iraq War in 2003, Libya engaged in rolling back its efforts in an exchange of improving the relations with the United States and the Western world. The United States and the United Kingdom assisted Libya in removing equipment and rolling back its program, with independent verification by the IAEA.

In 1972, Libya signed the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) and ratified it in 1982.

In 1970, Libya secretly acquired chemical weapons capability from the Soviet Union and was one of the non-signatory states of Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC), only acceded to become a member of the CWC on 6 January 2004. Libya declared 24.7 metric tonnes of mustard gas, 1,390 metric tonnes of chemical precursors for making sarin, as well as 3,563 unloaded chemical weapon munitions (aerial bombs). Destruction of the Libyan chemical weapons was agreed upon when the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) set January 2014 as the deadline for the full destruction of Libya's chemical weapons. Libya began destroying its chemical stockpiles and munitions later in 2004, but it missed deadlines for converting one chemical weapons production facility to peaceful use and for destroying its stockpile of mustard agent.

In October 2014, Libya asked for foreign assistance to transport its 850 tonne stockpile of precursor chemicals for making nerve gas out of Libya for destruction. In February 2015, Libyan military sources told media that unidentified armed men had captured large amounts of Libya’s chemical weapons, including mustard gas and sarin. Destruction of Libya's chemical weapon precursors was completed in November 2017.

Libya signed the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons on 20 September 2017, but has not ratified it.