Suriname
At the end of 2023, Suriname was the only Caribbean State yet to sign the TPNW, following the Bahamas’ signature on 19 September 2023. Suriname voted in favour of adopting the TPNW at the UN Diplomatic Conference in 2017 and has consistently voted in favour of the annual UN General Assembly resolutions on the Treaty, including in 2023. Suriname 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
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2023 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (a) | Develop, produce, manufacture, acquire | Compatible |
| Test | Compatible | |
| Possess or stockpile | 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) | 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) | Voted yes |
| Other weapons of mass destruction (WMD) treaties | |
|---|---|
| Party to an NWFZ | Yes (Ratified 1977, Tlatelolco) |
| Party to the NPT | Yes (Acceded 1976) |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes (Ratified 2006) |
| Party to the BWC | Yes (Acceded 1993) |
| Party to the CWC | Yes (Ratified 1997) |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards agreement | Yes (2 Feb 1979) |
| 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 to the First Committee of the UN General Assembly in October 2023, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), of which Suriname is a member, announced that all of its member states are now either states parties or signatories to the TPNW or ‘in the process of acceding to' the Treaty’. In the statement, CARICOM also voiced its strong support for the TPNW and appealed for ‘all States that have not done so to join the Treaty without delay’. It described the Treaty as ‘a fundamental step towards the irreversible, transparent and verifiable elimination of nuclear weapons’.1
Recommendations
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Suriname should urgently adhere to the TPNW.
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Suriname should conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol with the IAEA.