Suriname
In September 2021, the Foreign Minister of Suriname, Albert Ramdin, stated: 'The TPNW is currently under consideration.' 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 2021.
| TPNW Article 1(1) prohibitions: Compatibility in 2021 | ||
|---|---|---|
| (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 | |
|---|---|
| 2021 UNGA resolution on TPNW | Voted yes |
| 2020 UNGA resolution on TPNW | Voted yes |
| 2019 UNGA resolution on TPNW | Voted yes |
| 2018 UNGA resolution on TPNW | Voted yes |
| Participated in TPNW negotiations | Yes |
| Share of women in TPNW negotiations | No data available |
| Vote on adoption of treaty text | Voted yes |
| Adoption of TPNW (7 July 2017) | Voted yes |
| IAEA safeguards and fissile material | |
|---|---|
| Safeguards Agreement | Yes |
| TPNW Art 3(2) deadline | N/A |
| Small Quantities Protocol | Yes (Original) |
| Additional Protocol | No |
| Fissile material production facilities | No |
| Highly enriched uranium stocks | No |
| Plutonium stocks (mil/civ) | No/No |
| Related treaties and regimes | |
|---|---|
| Party to the BWC | Yes |
| Party to the CWC | Yes |
| Party to the PTBT | Yes |
| Ratified the CTBT | Yes |
| Party to the NPT | Yes |
| Party to a NWFZ | Yes (Tlatelolco) |
| Member of the CD | No |
Latest developments
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.
Suriname associated itself with a declaration issued by OPANAL on the occasion of the International Day for the Total Elimination of Nuclear Weapons on 26 September 2021. In this statement, the 33 member states of OPANAL reiterated 'the call upon all States, in particular nuclear-weapon States, to eliminate the role of nuclear weapons in their security and defence doctrines', recalled 'their participation in the adoption and recent entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons,' and considered 'that, with the entry into force of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, for the first time joins the path towards the total elimination of those weapons of mass destruction, in a transparent, verifiable and irreversible manner and within clearly established time frame, that have marked the [Treaty of Tlateloclo] and the [NPT].' The statement also noted that the TPNW, Treaty of Tlatelolco, NPT and CTBT, once in force, 'are not mere declarations of intention, since they are a suitable legal basis for the process aimed at completely eliminating all nuclear weapons in a transparent, verifiable and irreversible manner forever.'2
Recommendations
- Suriname should urgently adhere to the TPNW.
- Suriname should conclude and bring into force an Additional Protocol with the IAEA, and upgrade to a Modified Small Quantities Protocol.
1) Letter to ICAN, 8 September 2021, https://bit.ly/3HMebln