Fiji
Addressing the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (1MSP) in Vienna in June 2022, Frank Bainimarama, the Fijian Prime Minister, said that his country was proud to be among the large group of states working together under the TPNW to ‘take this first step back from the knife-edge of Armageddon.' It is not idealism that convinces us. It is level-headed commonsense that calls on us to do away with this means of species extinction,’ he said.[1]
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 15 (27%) |
| 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 1985, Rarotonga) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1972) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 1996) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 1973) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1993) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Original) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
In a closing statement to the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, Fiji and 64 other TPNW supporters urged ‘all states committed to attain and maintain a world without nuclear weapons to join the TPNW without delay’.2
Fiji was one of the co-sponsors for the 2022 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.'3
Recommendations
- Fiji should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
- Fiji should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.
- Fiji should upgrade to a Modified Small Quantities Protocol with the IAEA.