Barbados
Barbados is currently examining the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) with a view to ratifying it. It signed the Treaty on 22 September 2022 at a high-level ceremony at the United Nations in New York.1
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No (Signed 2022) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1980) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2008) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1969, Tlatelolco) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1996) | |
| AP with the IAEA | No | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1973) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Acceded 2007) | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compliant |
| Possess or stockpile | Compliant | |
| Test | 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 (2024) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | Yes (observer) |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | No |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 2 (100%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Did not vote |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Voted yes |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | No |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | Yes (Original) |
Latest developments
Barbados was one of the co-sponsors for the 2024 UN General Assembly resolution on the TPNW, which welcomed the Treaty’s entry into force and 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
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which Barbados is a member, reiterated its support for the TPNW and urged ‘all States to engage constructively with this vital legal instrument’.3
Recommendations
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Barbados should urgently ratify the TPNW.
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Barbados should conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol (AP) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), and upgrade to a modified Small Quantities Protocol (SQP).