Guyana
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of Guyana, Hugh Todd, called for universal adherence to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), and the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW). He said that the continued existence of nuclear weapons, and the lack of progress on disarmament, ‘erodes the security of all nations, stokes international tensions and increases the risk of nuclear catastrophe’.1
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | Yes (Ratified 2017) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1993) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1995, Tlatelolco) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1997) | |
| AP with the IAEA | No | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 2013) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) | |
| 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 |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | 3 (80%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| 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
At a ministerial-level meeting of the UN Security Council on nuclear disarmament and non-proliferation in March 2024, Guyana said: ‘In reducing the risk of nuclear conflict and strengthening the [NPT] and its associated regime, focus must also be placed on advancing implementation efforts of … other key instruments, including the [TPNW], which has made considerable progress.’2
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Guyana said that nuclear weapons ‘have no place in our world’ and ‘their use and threat of use are contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations and to the spirit of the Charter’. It urged all states that have not yet done so to ratify the TPNW, which it noted is ‘complementary to’ the NPT. It also called on all nuclear-weapon states to ‘urgently comply with their legal obligations’ with respect to nuclear disarmament.3
At the same meeting, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which Guyana is a member, reiterated its support for the TPNW and urged ‘all States to engage constructively with this vital legal instrument’.4
Guyana 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’.5
Recommendations
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Guyana should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
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Guyana should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative, and other necessary measures.
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Guyana 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).