Sudan
Sudan is believed to be working on upgrading its status from TPNW signatory to state party. At the NPT Preparatory Committee meeting in August 2023, Sudan noted that the 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’.[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) | No |
| 1MSP 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 |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | No (Signed 1996, Pelindaba) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Ratified 1973) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2004) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 2003) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Acceded 1999) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (7 Jan 1977) |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Modified) |
| Additional Protocol | No |
| Enrichment facilities/reprocessing plants | No |
| HEU stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks | No |
Latest developments
In a statement marking the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2023, Sudan said: ‘The geopolitical conflicts that the world is witnessing today necessitate the redoubling of international efforts to enhance the universality of multilateral agreements and treaties on nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction.’2
In the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, Sudan remarked that the world cannot ‘enjoy security and peace in the shadow of nuclear weapons’, and it criticised NPT nuclear-weapon States for failing to achieve tangible progress in implementing their disarmament obligations. ‘Nuclear risks cannot be used as an excuse for people’s delay in implementing effective measures to prevent them,’ it said.3
In January 2023, Sudan participated in an African regional seminar on universalisation of the TPNW in Pretoria, hosted by the South African foreign ministry.4
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 with the IAEA.
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Sudan should ratifiy the Pelindaba NWFZ Treaty, which it signed in 1996.