Jamaica
Jamaica participated in the Second Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (2MSP) in November and December 2023, where it expressed grave concern that ‘the geopolitical situation has worsened beyond levels seen in decades’, making it ‘even more critical that we work towards the full implementation of the TPNW and champion its universalisation’. It called on all non-parties ‘to take urgent steps to sign and accede to the Treaty’.[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) | 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 1969, Tlatelolco) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1970) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2001) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 1975) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2000) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (6 Nov 1978) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | No (Rescinded 2006) |
| Additional Protocol | Yes |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | Cleared |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
At 2MSP, Jamaica said: ‘We must continue to dispel the notion that the possession of nuclear weapons represents power, status, deterrence and an instrument of national security. … As responsible States parties and champions of nuclear disarmament, it falls to us to encourage greater public awareness about the dangers of such weapons and more targeted steps towards nuclear disarmament.’2
Speaking on behalf of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) in the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Jamaica appealed for ‘all states that have not done so to join the [TPNW] without delay’, describing it as ‘a fundamental step towards the irreversible, transparent and verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons’.3
Jamaica 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’.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.