Samoa
Addressing the First Meeting of States Parties to the TPNW (1MSP) in Vienna in June 2022, Samoa said: ‘At this important meeting, we must commit to concrete actions to implement, to the fullest extent possible, our obligations as states parties to the TPNW.’ It also stated that ‘For its part, the Pacific is only too well aware of the catastrophic consequences of nuclear detonation as a result of its own experience, with over 300 nuclear weapon tests carried out over many years in our region.’[1]
TPNW Status
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compliance in 2022 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 1MSP (2022) | Yes |
| 1MSP delegation size (% women) | 1 (0%) |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Did not vote |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1985, Rarotonga) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1975) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2002) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 2017) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 2002) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes |
| 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
At the Tenth Review Conference of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) in August 2022, Samoa delivered a statement on behalf of the Pacific Small Island Developing States, which noted the entry into force of the TPNW in 2021 and the convening of its 1MSP.2 In a closing statement to the NPT Review Conference, Samoa and 64 other TPNW supporters urged ‘all states committed to attain and maintain a world without nuclear weapons to join the TPNW without delay’.3
Samoa was one of the co-sponsors for the 2022 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
In November 2022, in accordance with its Article 12 obligation to promote universal adherence to the TPNW, Samoa recommended that Brazil ratify the TPNW as part of the UN Human Rights Council’s Universal Periodic Review.5
Recommendations
- Samoa should continue to encourage other states to adhere to the TPNW.
- Samoa should ensure that all the TPNW obligations are implemented domestically, through legal, administrative and other necessary measures.
- Samoa should conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol with the IAEA, and upgrade to a Modified Small Quantities Protocol.