Sudan
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2024, Sudan noted ‘the failure to achieve any tangible progress in nuclear disarmament continues’. ‘It is not enough to keep repeating the warning of the imminent danger posed to our individual lives by nuclear weapons, without making any progress in terms of commitment and collective action,’ it said.1
TPNW Status
| Key weapons of mass destruction treaties | ||
|---|---|---|
| NUCLEAR WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the TPNW | No (Signed 2020) | |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1973) | |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2004) | |
| Party to an NWFZ | No (Signed 1996, Pelindaba) | |
| CSA with the IAEA | Yes (In force 1977) | |
| AP with the IAEA | No | |
| BIOLOGICAL AND CHEMICAL WEAPONS | ||
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 2003) | |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Acceded 1999) | |
| 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) | No |
| Participated in 1MSP (2022) | No |
| Average MSP delegation size (% women) | N/A |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations (2017) | Yes |
| Negotiation mandate (A/RES/71/258) | Abstained |
| Fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Nuclear facilities | No |
| Fissile material production | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
| SQP with the IAEA | Yes (Modified) |
Latest developments
At the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) Preparatory Committee session in August 2023, Sudan noted that the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) had ‘provided some optimism for progress in the field of nuclear disarmament’. It added that it considers the TPNW to be ‘complementary to the NPT, addressing the deep concern about the humanitarian consequences of any use of nuclear weapons’.2
Recommendations
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Sudan should urgently ratify the TPNW.
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Sudan should conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol (AP) with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
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Sudan should ratify the Pelindaba nuclear-weapon-free zone (NWFZ) Treaty, which it signed in 1996.