Fiji
Fiji participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023. ‘Fiji, like many other countries in the Pacific, continues to bear the scourge of nuclear testing, especially for those individuals that were exposed to radiation and those that continue to bear the stigma of intergenerational health conditions associated with nuclear radiation exposure,’ it informed the meeting.[1]
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) | Yes |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 3 (33%) |
| 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 (22 Mar 1973) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Modified) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
At 2MSP, Fiji noted that ‘getting information on radiation impacts is often difficult with information held by the former nuclear test countries’ and called on ‘the international community to take measures to assist with independent reviews on environmental impacts, protection and remediation in affected regions’. It welcomed discussions on establishing an international trust fund for victim assistance, but warned: ‘We must ensure that the trust fund is not used by those responsible for the use of nuclear weapons as a means of circumventing their decisions to join the TPNW.’2
Fiji 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’.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.