Jamaica
Jamaica is an example to be followed by other states, as it has adhered to all of the seven key treaties in the legal architecture on disarmament and non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, in addition to being party to a nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) treaty.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | Yes (Ratified 2020) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1969, Tlatelolco) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1978) | |
| AP with the IAEA | Yes (In force 2003) | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 1975) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2000) | |
| 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) | 2 (16.5%) |
| 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 | Yes |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | Cleared |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | No (Rescinded 2006) |
Latest developments
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Jamaica reaffirmed its commitment to the total prohibition and elimination of nuclear weapons. ‘There is a false narrative that nuclear weapons provide security,’ it said. ‘The reality is that the continued stockpiling and reliance on these weapons is incompatible with our survival.’1 It reiterated its call for the universalisation of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW), describing it as ‘a strong complement to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and an effective tool to advance our universally shared disarmament goals’.2
At a high-level UN event to commemorate the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2024, Jamaica described the threat posed by nuclear weapons as ‘more pronounced and dangerous than it has been for decades’. It stressed that no nation would be immune to the consequences of their use: ‘Let us remember that the radioactive fallout, environmental devastation, and economic disruption that would follow are not bound by geography.’ It also called on all states that have not yet joined the TPNW, NPT, or Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT) ‘to consider doing so as a matter of urgency’, and it hailed the TPNW’s entry into force in 2021 as a crucial step in ‘galvanising international cooperation’ towards the goal of ‘a world that is peaceful and secure for present and future generations’.3
Jamaica 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’.4
Recommendations
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Jamaica should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the Treaty.
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Jamaica should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative and other necessary measures.