Guyana
In a statement marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2023, Guyana called on all States that have not yet done so to ratify the TPNW ‘and to take concrete steps towards its full and effective implementation’. ‘As members of this global community of nations, we have a moral, ethical and legal obligation to prohibit the use of nuclear weapons,’ it added.[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 |
| 2MSP delegation size (% women) | 5 (60%) |
| 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 1995, Tlatelolco) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1993) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Ratified 2013) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (23 May 1997) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Original) |
| Additional Protocol | No |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
Guyana participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023, which it described as ‘an opportunity to get back on track’: ‘The current geopolitical situation warrants a closer look at the potential use or threat of use of nuclear weapons and its inevitability to exacerbate conflicts,’ it argued. Guyana also expressed concern about ‘the growing pervasiveness of nuclear rhetoric’, ‘the modernisation of nuclear weapons and efforts to increase existing arsenals’, and the promotion of nuclear weapons as instruments of ‘power and prestige and the ultimate solution to preventing and ending conflicts’. It called for ‘the continuous implementation of the TPNW’ and the total elimination of nuclear weapons.2
Guyana 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
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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 with the IAEA, and upgrade to a modified Small Quantities Protocol.