South Sudan
South Sudan was absent for the vote on the annual UN General Assembly resolution on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) in 2024. It had abstained from voting on the same resolution in 2023, was absent for the vote in 2022, and voted in favour of it in 2021. South Sudan maintains policies and practices that are compatible with all of the prohibitions in Article 1 of the TPNW, and can therefore sign and ratify or accede to the Treaty without the need for a change in conduct.
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No | |
| Party to the NPT | No | |
| Ratified the CTBT | No | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No | |
| CSA with the IAEA | No | |
| AP with the IAEA | No | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 2023) | |
| Party to the CWC | No | |
| TPNW Art. 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2024 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Possess or stockpile | Compatible | |
| Test | Compatible | |
| (b) | Transfer | Compatible |
| (c) | Receive transfer or control | Compatible |
| (d) | Use | Compatible |
| Threaten to use | Compatible | |
| (e) | Assist, encourage or induce | Compatible |
| (f) | Seek or receive assistance | Compatible |
| (g) | Allow stationing, installation, deployment | Compatible |
| TPNW voting and participation | |
|---|---|
| UNGA resolution on TPNW (latest vote) | Abstained (2023) |
| Participated in 2MSP (2023) | No |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | No |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Did not vote |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Did not vote |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | No |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | No |
Latest developments
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, the African Group, of which South Sudan is a member, urged ‘all members of the international community, especially nuclear-weapon States and those under the so-called “nuclear umbrella”, to seize the opportunity to sign and ratify the [TPNW] at an early date’.1
South Sudan acceded to the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC) in April 2023.
In January 2023, South Sudan participated in an African regional seminar on universalisation of the TPNW in Pretoria, hosted by the South African foreign ministry.2
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in February 2020 that South Sudan supports the TPNW and the goal of abolishing nuclear weapons and intends to become a state party 'in due course'.3
Recommendations
-
South Sudan should urgently adhere to the TPNW. Until it is in a position to do so, it should welcome the TPNW as a valuable component in the global disarmament and non-proliferation architecture, work with the Treaty's states parties on practical steps towards disarmament, and attend the meetings of states parties as an observer.
-
South Sudan should adhere to the Pelindaba NWFZ Treaty.
-
South Sudan should conclude and bring into force a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement (CSA) and an Additional Protocol (AP) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
-
South Sudan should adhere to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (CTBT), and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC).
3) Meeting between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of South Sudan and ICAN in Geneva, 27 February 2020.