Bahamas
The Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Bahamas, Frederick Audley Mitchell, signed the TPNW at a high-level ceremony in New York on 19 September 2023, becoming the 93rd signatory.
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compliant |
| Test | Compliant | |
| Possess or stockpile | Compliant | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compliant |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compliant |
| (d) | Use | Compliant |
| Threaten to use | Compliant | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compliant |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compliant |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compliant |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Voted yes (2023) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| 2MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1977, Tlatelolco) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1976) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2007) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 1986) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2009) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (12 Sep 1997) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Modified) |
| Additional Protocol | No |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
In a statement to the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which the Bahamas is a member, appealed for ‘all States that have not done so to join the Treaty without delay’, describing it as ‘a fundamental step towards the irreversible, transparent and verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons’.1
The Bahamas was one of the co-sponsors for the 2023 UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW, which called upon ‘all States that have not yet done so to sign, ratify, accept, approve or accede to the Treaty at the earliest possible date’.2
Recommendations
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The Bahamas should urgently ratify the TPNW.
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The Bahamas should conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol with the IAEA.